The Rampion Boyz Chronicles HiatusReconstruction
by sondering
Summary: The boy band entitled the "Rampion Boyz," featuring band members Kai, Wolf, Thorne, and Jacin open up their first tour in America. Follow them through their world of drama, love, and fame.
1. Chapter 1

**K A I**

"WE LOVE YOU KAI!"

Kai was skimming through his feed on Instagram, looking at all the posts he was tagged in by his ever adoring fans (although, he didn't like to call them fans, more like _supporters_ ). He smiled once he saw the "we love you, Kai" shirt that a couple of his girl supporters made just for him, claiming they'd be at their tour in both America and Canada.

"Aw, isn't that so sweet?" Thorne cooed. "We love you, Kai" he mimicked in a high-pitched, squeaky voice that was supposed to be of a starstruck girl, squeezing Kai into an embrace.

Kai chuckled, gently pushing Thorne off of him before shoving his iPhone in his back jean pocket. "Oh, stop it."

"I mean, it's true!" Thorne shrugged before grabbing his electric guitar and strumming it. Kai, Thorne, Wolf, and Jacin were all on stage practicing for tonight's performance they had in Washington. "Kai, Kai, oh, Kai!" Thorne mimicked again, rolling his eyes towards the back of his head pretending like he was about to faint because truth be told, that was how Kai's fanbase operated. Either they would fling themselves on him, cry just by making eye contact or touching his hand, and always reaching for hugs during meet and greets.

Wolf crept up behind Thorne after doing a mic check and patted his large, calloused hand on his shoulder. "Don't be jealous because he's the fan favorite, Thorne. I can see how envious you are about it." Wolf joked.

Thorne shrugged Wolf's hand off before plucking his fingers against the strings to his guitar, warming up without looking down at the guitar itself. "He might be the favorite, but heck, I'm the sexiest _and_ the second favorite." Thorne stated proudly, making Jacin glare at him from his seat behind the keyboard.

"Whatever floats your boat, Carswell. We really need to practice!" Jacin said rather blatantly, turning his keyboard on before glaring at his phone like he always did these days. His childhood best friend, Winter (though it was hinted by the rest of the group that he considered her more than best friend's just by how much he yearned to talk to her and talked about her since the beginning of their tour) never seemed to want to answer the phone or contact him these days, and Jacin didn't seem to know why. After a couple of months, you'd think the guy would get the hint. But he was still persistent, which was something Kai always admired about Jacin. He felt bad for him also, sympathizing over being rejected. He'd only known of Winter back in all of their college days, where Thorne got all of them to know each other and start a band after recognizing everyone's talent and Jacin would FaceTime the beautiful Winter everyday. That was how the Rampion Boyz was thought of.

They went from singing at bars and clubs till after college, when Kai's father recognized he and his bandmates were taking their career seriously and would do anything to reach to the top. That was when Kai's dad hooked them up with his successful and top of the line record label, Bejing (also known as BejingBeats). After quite a few promotions, interviews, songs, and connections, they had a platinum selling album and their first ever tour.

"Guys, can you believe this?" Kai said in awe.

"I know right? Our first ever tour." Thorne piped up. "Golly! Imagine all the girls that'll fling themselves onto me, the after parties, the girls, the spotlight, the girls-"

"-our first ever opening night tour going into shambles with you all procrastinating our only rehearsal until then." Jacin said rather sharply, transmitting them all back into reality. Kai despised Jacin's cold demeanor yet applauded him for it. It was needed during times like these where they were too busy in their euphoric stupor.

"Okay, _sunshine_." Thorne mocked, repeating what Jacin's fans would always say about his smile. That is, when he would rarely break out a smile. Jacin didn't take it too kindly at all, throwing deadly glares Thorne's way. It probably reminded him of Winter. She would always describe his smile as a "sunrise smile." Kai knew that Thorne hit a soft spot.

"Okay guys!" Kai clapped his hands with his normal cheerful voice that radiated from his cheerful personality, standing in front of his mic that was front center of the stage. "The show must go on!"

* * *

The first night of their tour was a success in Washington, and the bandmates all went backstage. Well, everyone except for Kai. Kai always wanted to say hi to the fans outside (yes, their first show was that packed) who were listening from the booming speakers inside. Of course, (although he disliked yet understood the meaning of having them around) he had four body guards circled around him. As they approached outside, he could already hear the screaming fans and made sure he could get mostly everyone's pictures and signatures in, knowing he had fans backstage inside that he'd have to cater to.

Walking back inside to backstage where he found Thorne flirting with the groupies and Wolf & Jacin by the food, Wolf eating a muffin and Jacin texting furiously on his phone, there was already a line full of girls for Kai to tend to.

When he got towards the very end of the line, getting increasingly tired by the minute, his mood perked up when a tall, dark-skinned girl with braids excitingly came up face to face with him, pulling on what Kai assumed to be her friend's wrist. The friend had tannish skin, dark brown eyes, and brown straight hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail.

Kai was already intrigued by her, making sure to accentuate his endearing, toothy smile while looking at both of the girls. Mainly, _her_.

"Hi!" The dark-skinned girl screeched rather loudly, causing Jacin to look up from his phone to locate the noise before continuing to surf the internet on his phone. "My name is Iko! And this is my friend, Cinder." She gestured towards the girl with the brown hair and tan skin. The girl Kai was already interested in.

Why? He didn't know exactly. If it made sense, she looked and seemed different from the girls he would encounter day to day. Most of them would be rendered starstruck and treated him like a supernatural creature. But her-Cinder, he corrected in his head-had an aura that already drew him in. Like she was telepathically saying that she would treat him like your everyday person, like a human being. Not like a prince, the favorite of the group, Kai. But the normal and real Kai. And he could tell through those eyes that while she was not completely detached from the fact that this was the Rampion Boyz Kai judging by her nervous (but adorable) smile, he could also sense her calmness and causality that he wouldn't get with other girls. Girls like her friend, Iko. Not that he was bothered by it, but sometimes Kai would desire for someone to look at him like he was normal, even if he wasn't. And with Cinder, he could almost tell.

Even though he might've just been over thinking things, from the moment she raised her prosthetic hand to shake his, as if he was just anybody she'd see on a normal day in the streets, Kai knew there was something rather special about this girl.

And he hoped-no, he _knew_ it was safe to say that he was right.

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed this! I plan to make more chapters, just tell me in the comments if I should continue with this AU. I got inspired by regolithheart and nothingtoseehere-move-along by their tumblr post about the tic boys being in a boy band. All rights to them for coming up with this idea anyway, I just let my imagination run wild. If you have not noticed, I made sure Kai's story would be the beginning, then Wolf, Thorne, and last but not least, Jacin.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Oooooooooooooooooh!" Iko wailed, fanning her face with her hands so violently that Kai was almost positive that they would detach from her wrists. She pulled out her pink portscreen and a permanent black marker from her gigantic purse. "Would you sign my portscreen, please?"

Normally, girls would ask Kai to sign their autographs, prized possessions, or even a part of their bodies. But _portscreens_? That was a new one.

Nonetheless, Kai accepted the request like he'd sign plenty of portscreens before. Speaking of portscreens, his personal portscreen, in which he called Nainsi (the guys would always give him crap about it. But hey, he'd been stuck with the thing since second grade), was broken right before the tour was to start. Kai was heartbroken. He searched everywhere and back in the United States for a mechanic or someone to fix it, but the job seemed impossible.

After signing Iko's portscreen, Kai wondered if Cinder was going to say anything instead of averting her eyes elsewhere every time he caught them taking glances at his. He really wanted to get to know this girl. Although, it didn't seem like they would be going anywhere, considering the mere fact that Iko was too talkative and chirpy to stop, but Kai didn't mind. As long as Cinder wasn't leaving.

So, he decided to start up a different topic after a pause from Iko that he was sure he'd never get another chance for.

"Ugh, I wish my portscreen was working."

"Well, what happened to it?" Iko asks, an eyebrow arched up in concern. Kai was secretly hoping Cinder would join the conversation, but that wouldn't happen if he kept throwing things that were open to both of them, and not just for her only to answer. He silently pondered what he could possibly slip up and ask without being rude to Iko.

But luckily, Cinder seemed to come to life at this, showing some emotion of interest while crossing her arms over her chest and giving Kai her undivided attention. For a portscreen? He didn't know why. But he sure was ecstatic that it unintentionally worked.

Kai shrugged, making it seem like he was uninterested in this topic when he in fact felt his heart pounding under the layer of cloth that was his black flannel. "Before the tour started, Thorne 'accidentally' ran it over with his Rampion, how it got under that, I have no clue." Kai didn't think much about what he said until it was too late, looking at Cinder's face that gave away she was confused.

She was opening her mouth to speak before Iko beat her to it, making Cinder look like an idiot.

 _Dang it._ Kai mentally was exasperated. _So close_.

"Accident? And what's 'the rampion?'" Iko asked.

Kai pulled out a grin, trying to mask his disappointment and foolishness at the realization that he'll never see this girl again or be able to talk to her. "Oh, I'm sorry. The Rampion is what we call our coach bus... more so Thorne's, but that's another story for later." Kai inwardly laughed at the memory. Thorne first obtained-no, _stole_ the bus their last day of college.

"Oh." Iko blinked. "Well, _Cinder_ here is a mechanic!" Iko nudged Cinder on the elbow.

At the mentioning of her name, Cinder's eyes had widened and still focused at Kai, who broke out into a grin. A creepy grin, probably. But he didn't care, he was glad she was the center of attention finally.

"Uh, um... ya-yeah. I'm a mechanic." Cinder murmured, looking down at her converse shoes in embarrassment. If she was in fact embarrassed, it didn't show. Kai didn't see a blush in sight.

"The best around!" Iko piped up.

"I'm not sure about-"

"-could you fix my portscreen?" Kai asked rather quickly. Maybe even too excitingly to his dismay.

At this, Cinder looked back up at him, and after a few moments of her opening and closing her mouth like a fish, she finally nodded her head, her fake brown ponytail swishing from behind her. It was only then did he realize that she had dirt marks scattered on her face along with a grease stain. "Uh, yeah sure. I should be able to fix it. Where is it?"

"It's in my bag actually! I'll have to get it from my room, though. How early do you think you could fix it?" Kai asked.

Cinder shrugged her shoulders, creeping her normal hand over her arm. "It depends on the condition and when you want it. Is it bad?"

"Very," Kai over-exaggerated. "The screen is all cracked, and the home button is broken also. It won't turn on for me. I'd like to have it as early as... um... maybe before this month is over with? Anytime can work around your schedule, that is."

"Oh-okay." Cinder nodded. "Well-"

"-I can give you my number." Kai interrupted. Before he once again realized what he said and noticed the questionable look Cinder was giving to him, he corrected himself. "You know, to get in contact and keep in touch with you. Is that alright?"

Cinder's dark brown eyes were still filled with shocked and widened as possibly as it could be. "Ya-yeah. That's fine." She reached from her blue jean back pocket to pull out her iPhone, giving it to him. "You can put your number in."

After they both exchanged numbers and called each other for confirmation, and Kai practically speed walking to get his broken portscreen, he almost forgot Iko was still there. He was too entranced by Cinder to even notice. He felt a bit guilty and a jerk for forgetting.

"And also, we just wanted to tell you that for one, Cinder's younger step-sister, Peony, really wanted to see you today but couldn't. You see, she's been really ill with cancer lately... she's in the final stages." Iko gulped before continuing to speak on such a touché topic. "She's a big fan of yours-"

"-actually, your number one fan, probably." Cinder joked, forcing herself to let out a chuckle. Kai could tell how she felt about her step-sister, Peony, by just her facial expression and the emotions behind her words. She sounded wavering, and she looked deeply saddened. Those eyes that were once widened in disbelief for him were looking down at the hardwood floor. "She's in the last stages of lung cancer, and she was supposed to come with us but things didn't turn out well." Cinder cleared her throat, abruptly looking back up at Kai. "She wanted us to tell you that she really loves and adore you, and to keep on doing what you do."

"And that you're very cute and a really amazing singer. And how you're her favorite." Iko quickly added, pulling out her portscreen to record Kai. "Could you say something for her?" she inquired.

Kai was in shock, things went from awkward and giddy to melancholy very quick. "Yes, of course! Wow. I-I'm so sorry to hear that." He stammered, trying to come up with the right words to say. "Hey there, Peony. I love you _so_ much, you don't even know. I hope you'll get better. I _know_ you'll get better. Stay strong for me."

And with that, Iko tapped the stop button and put her portscreen in her purse.

Kai sensed the toxic atmosphere in the air, one that was filled with gloominess. "Hey," he came up with an idea so fast that he was happy to have thought of. "Why don't I give you all free tickets and a backstage pass for our next show in Washington? For all three of you, in honor of Peony. We'll be back in Washington in the next few weeks." Kai dug in his pocket and found some spare tickets, handing one to Iko and two for Cinder. "Is that alright?"

Cinder looked shocked yet once more, but it was a happy kind of shocked, if that made any sense. Iko squealed, jumping up an down and clutching her ticket like it was the lottery. "It's great! Thank you, thank you so much." Cinder responded once she realized that Iko was too thrilled to speak.

Kai nodded his head, smiling. "Well, I hope I'll see you all there. Take care, and I'll contact you for my Nain-I mean, my portscreen." He almost slipped, wincing and cringing on the inside.

Now, it was Cinder who was gripping Iko's arm as they started to walk towards the exit door. "I'll make sure to keep you updated on that. Bye!" She called out from over her shoulder, gesturing towards his portscreen as she waved it in the air with her other prosthetic hand.

"Pleasure meeting you, bye!" Kai dreamily sighed before watching them walk out the exit door and disappear.

 _Cinder_. He thought.

"Cinder," he whispered quietly to himself, smiling like an idiot.

God, did he like how that sounded off the tongue.

* * *

 **Hoped you all liked this chapter! Thanks to you all that followed, favorited, and commented on the first chapter, I really appreciated it. How do you all like it so far? What do you think will happen next? I have to put out there that I will be going to school starting tomorrow, so there might be some slow updates, and that's why I wanted to upload a new chapter today.**


	3. Chapter 3

Kai had taken a little time to himself in his personal backstage room, staring at himself in the ginormous mirror that was seated in front of him.

All he had on his mind was _Cinder_.

 _Cinder_.

 _Cinder_.

He was practically obsessed with the girl he barely knew for half an hour and talked to for less than that. On one hand, he felt elated and full of bliss about his newfound crush. On the other, he was confused and tried to forget about it. But after five minutes of trying to forget about her and the way her dark brown eyes complimented her tan skin and how her tan skin complimented the grey tank top she was wearing with her blue jeans and how her-

Okay, it was clear he was obsessed. That part he knew. What he didn't understand was _why_ he was so infatuated with her for those very same reasons. Out of all the girls he could pick, have, and talk about on interviews and could show off on red carpets, he wanted Cinder. He didn't understand why he wanted a tom-boyish girl with the normal dark brown eyes and the normal tanned skin with the dark brown hair. No, he didn't understand when he could go for a supermodel with envious curves, who had blonde hair and eyes more bluer than Carswell Thorne's that all the girls fell head over heels for.

But maybe it was because he liked normality and simplicity. He didn't want to live up or fulfill society's standards on what girl he was to have. He didn't want to be in one of those set-up relationships in Hollywood or be treated like royalty. He simply needed normality. And that was Cinder. What was the difference in wanting society's normality and standard of a blonde hair and blue eyes type of girl when he sought out for _his_ type of normality; dark brown eyes and dark brown hair with natural tanned skin that would probably be deemed barely passable and not so impressive. He didn't understand the ways of the world nor did he want to. He just wanted someone to love him for _him_ , not the Rampion Boyz Kai. He didn't want a girl who couldn't stay on her feet for a mere two seconds without falling out, he wanted one he could take out on dates and have a good time with. He didn't want a girl who felt the need to impress him when he should be pleasing and impressing _her_. He didn't even have a specific appearance or body type, just all personality. Personality, vibes, and connection. With Cinder, he could've sworn he felt those good vibes, that instant connection, and that rich and laid-back personality that was far too over looked by most people. But not for him.

Or maybe this was coming from a guy who was simply having a normal crush and falling in love.

No, it had to be deeper than that.

Then again, how dare he ask for normality when he was a certified celebrity? How dare he ask for his significant other to keep it cool when everywhere they could possibly go together, they could be mobbed? They could be violated, hated against for no reason other than the jealousy from other girls, unwanted fame and publicity.

Basically everything he can't be wasn't an option.

Everything he wanted to be wasn't an option.

He was snapped out of his thoughts once he heard his door creak, those blue eyes poking from behind the wooden door.

"Knock, knock." Thorne walked in and closed the door behind him.

Kai resorted back to staring at himself in the mirror. "Who's there?" he said unenthusiastically.

"It is I," Thorne puffed out his chest and deepened his voice in a husky tone.

At this, Kai couldn't help but break out a smile that didn't half quite reach his eyes. "What's up?"

Thorne pulled up a stool next to the door and scooted right next to Kai, looking directly at him. "You and that girl is what's up."

Kai's face contorted in fake disbelief, already ready to defend himself that he was just being affectionate toward his supporters like he usually was. He was astonished that Thorne paid attention to anything other than those groupies that would greet them backstage every single performance.

"Don't play dumb with me and don't think I'm dumb. I know something's up with you and that cyborg chick-"

"- _Cinder_ is her name." Kai interjected sharply. Not only was he offending Cinder, but Thorne was slightly offending Kai by his tone of voice. It was the type that made it sound like he was accusing Kai of something.

Thorne rolled his eyes before leaning his elbow on his thigh. "Yeah, whatever. _Cinder_." He play mimicked before his tone of voice got serious. "Listen dude, I really care for you and only want you happy and all, but you need to watch out."

Kai chuckled in amusement because out of all people, the infamous heartthrob Thorne was teaching him a lesson. "Me?" Kai yelled, actually face to face with Thorne. "What about you? What about all the flirtatious girls you throw yourself on? Or the ones you invite to our hotel room? Or the ones you kiss at meet and greets? Or the-"

-Thorne raises his hand while shaking his head, looking like a adult who pitied a naive child. "That's the thing, they're all fun and games. For a night, for an hour, heck, maybe even for a season. But it's never real or serious. With that girl," he gestured towards the door. "What I saw? You were lovestruck. You looked serious, not playful. You looked like you were off your A game rather than professional and charismatic. You looked out of place. And don't even get me started on her."

"Don't bring up her then." Kai said rather curtly.

"No," Thorne proceeded. "She looked rather out of place herself. I can tell she may play it off a little better than these other girls around here, but she has some interest in you. I've seen in the way she looked at you. How you looked at her." _How we connect_ Kai thought. While Kai wanted to rejoice in somebody other than himself seeing this, he was furious also.

"So all of the sudden you know what's best for me? You're the love guru?"

Carswell raised his hands up like a theft caught from thievery. "No. It's not like that at all. I'm just warning you."

"Warning me _what_?" Kai hissed.

Thorne leaned over to Kai, and they weren't any more than a few inches apart. "That fame and girls just don't mix. I saw you all exchange numbers. I even saw you give her your portscreen. If you continue to pursue this-"

"-which I won't."

"Don't." Thorne said seriously, acting as if Kai hadn't made a remark at all. This was new for Kai, seeing Thorne so obligated to help someone in such a serious issue like this. And although Thorne played a lot, underneath all of the foolishness and immaturity was an intelligent guy. One that Kai would sometimes take for granted. He knew where Carswell was coming from, and it touched him that he went out of his way to care.

Reminding himself of this, Kai thawed instantly. "Yeah, man... I'm sorry for snapping. I just got caught up in the moment and all. Just a silly crush anyway, right?"

Was that right?

"It's alright." Thorne laughed before slouching. "I don't like playing the serious role and didn't mean to. In fact, I came in here to tell you that we're heading back to our hotel, so be ready. Anyways, I saw the way you looked at that girl. You were drooling like a puppy." He laughed at his own comment once again, easing the tension.

"Yeah, no. I just think-I _know_ that this girl is different. _S_ he's not like these other girls that come to our shows and can't control themselves every time they see us. _She's different._ "

"Whatever. Don't get too attached." Thorne got up to open the door.

"I won't."

Kai knew that was a lie, because he already was.

* * *

Lights.

Camera.

Action.

Well, for one thing, there was a whole lot of action.

And an abundant amount of lights.

Once they came out from the building they held their concert in to walking across the street where their Rampion was, all hell broke out.

Screaming fans created a clear pathway for them to walk on, security guards holding them back as much as possible.

Fans that screamed for everyone, but mostly Kai.

Over five girls that flung themselves on Kai given the chance was when a security guard left them unattended.

Fans whose flashlights overwhelmed Kai with the bright flare that focused all on him.

He was the first to lead the group like the lead singer should do, but the least respected and the least who could get any peace whatsoever.

He loves his supporters, but they could be a bit much at times.

He loves doing what he does, if only the fame could be an option that he could dispose of.

But he was diplomatic and charismatic as always, waving his hand princely like.

Reaching gently out for grabbing hands that yanked his arms.

Smiling for the hysterical girls.

Smiling because that's what fame required him to do on days like these when he wasn't feeling like smiling.

He felt like a total douche, but Kai was only human. He could not be all jolly and merry 24/7.

No, he had emotions too.

He was human too.

But something inside of him thought _Cinder_.

And that kept him going.

* * *

 **Hopefully this chapter didn't seem a bit on the cheesy side, but yeah, I had time to upload a new chapter! As always, please give me some feedback on what you think I can do better (if there's anything at all), if you enjoyed this story, etc. please favorite and follow :).**

 **QOTD: When and where do you think Kai and Cinder's next encounter will be?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Nine days before.**

"I," Kai dragged out the word. "Don't know where to go from here. Is love supposed to be a maze? 'Cause baby I don't know from here."

The guys were all in the nearby Washington studio that his dad, DJ Rikan, owned. He had studios in almost every state, that was how big his record label was. The boys were all in the recording studio, Kai and Wolf behind the mikes, Thorne sitting on a chair with his guitar in his hands, and Jacin seated behind the grand piano.

Usually, Jacin and Kai wrote the song lyrics, with Wolf and Thorne came up with some ideas. But this time around, it was strictly Thorne who came up with all the lyrics that dealt with a love song. Kai fell in love with Thorne's chord progression and picked up on the melody easily, it was the mere fact that the song itself needed some tweaking.

Kai stopped at the second line of the chorus before signaling with hand movements to stop the music. He removed his headphones and placed it gently on the stand before pulling up a stool right in front of Thorne.

"Hey, the melody and music is amazing, but can we change some lyrics to the song?" Kai inquired as politely as he ever could.

Thorne shrugged, a toothpick on the side of his mouth before strumming the strings to his guitar one by one with his pick. "Yeah, I guess. What is there you need to change? Then again, do your magic."

Kai smirked at how easily Thorne gave in before heaving a breath about the risky thing he was going to say next. "Well... I think instead of basing it off of a love song, maybe about a crush? And how it might be difficult and possibly can't work out because of all the shows and being on the road and whatnot?"

Kai suspected he did something wrong, considering the fact that all of them were looking at him in some form of astonishment. Jacin gave him an arched eyebrow, Wolf furrowed his bushy eyebrows at him while his green eyes conveyed how suspecting this change of topic for the song was to him, and Thorne looked at him mischievously.

 _Crap_. Kai thought. Maybe it was the way he presented it so abruptly? Maybe because it sounded like he was itching to get it out, his excitement getting the best of him? Or maybe it was because of the goofy smile on his face as he said it, referencing towards Cinder.

Thorne rested his guitar on the side of his chair before leaning forward and resting his elbows on either side of his thighs. "And what made you want to switch it to a crush type of song instead of a love one?" Kai knew the game Thorne was trying to play. He was trying to put Kai on blast. Make him afraid. Make him say the real truth behind the suggested topic.

Kai shrugged, feigning all nonchalance that he had in him. He really had to work on playing it cool like Thorne in times like these when he was under pressure. "I don't know. I feel like we always sing about love songs as if we had a significant other-in which we don't. Why not chance the topic every once in awhile? Do something different?" Kai counter-argued. He was pretty sure that was a good reason for Thorne to back off-and on the inside he did feel proud of himself-if it wasn't for the fact that although it was good, it wouldn't be good enough for Mr. Carswell Thorne. No, the guy was persistent, and could go on and on arguing back and forth all day with anyone.

"Fair enough," Wolf murmured, sounding like he was talking more so to himself rather than of the defense of Kai. Then again, at least he had someone that was willing to be on board. Kai almost forgot about the other two boys, they had no say, to be quite honest. It was a heated debate between Thorne and him; the only person who knew what was really going on. Kai felt a bit guilty for excluding Wolf and Jacin, but it is what it is.

Thorne hummed to himself in response of Wolf's small comment before nodding his head towards Jacin. "And what about you?"

"What about me?" Jacin refuted bluntly before typing something on his phone.

Both boys turned from Jacin then back at each other. "So what do you say? Two one one." Kai smiled.

Thorne pointed a finger at him. "No one agreed or denied to anything. I'm simply asking you why the sudden change? Not that I don't agree with it. Just... what lead you into thinking this up?" Thorne elaborated while smirking.

"I don't know-"

"-maybe because you have a unknown crush?" Thorne put Kai on blast.

"Really?" Wolf added to the commotion. "Who is it? Are you still crushing on Levana?" he was asking questions back to back, his eyes sparkling for newfound information.

"Yeah, Kai. _Who is it_?" Thorne taunted playfully yet seriously at the same time.

Kai rolled his eyes before patting his hands on his legs loudly. "First off, I'm not crushing on _anyone_." Saying that, Kai glared at Thorne for ratting him out. "And second off, ew, no Wolf, I've never even liked Levana a day in my life. I just said she had an admirable face." Levana was a business woman who was their very own publicist that Kai's dad hired. Kai remembered the first time he saw her, thinking she was beautiful. He even thought her talking voice was splendid, and he could listen to it for hours. It sounded so... _soothing_. But then it hastily turned into that creepy kind of soothing. And then Kai wondered if those very same facial features were made out of plastic instead of natural beauty. Besides, she was way passed his age and time.

Thorne shook his head. "Lies, lies, lies. Just tell them the truth Kai, you have a crush!" He bellowed.

"So what if I have a crush?" Kai yelled back at the same volume. "It's none of your business, and it's just a silly, short-term crush anyway."

Thorne rolled his eyes. "Silly it is, and short-term it shall be."

"Listen, I don't give a care about Kai's love life and who he likes so you shouldn't either Thorne. We all shouldn't, not unless it was hurting all of us." Jacin spoke up, finally contributing to the conversation before he pressed a key on the piano. "Let's just get back on track and hear what Kai has to say, business people, business."

"Yeah, Thorne _business_." Kai repeated before standing up from his stool.

"Yeah, Kai. _Business_ it is." Thorne mimicked.

Wolf stared warily at the two before taking his place by his mic. "You two are acting weird," he grumbled before putting on his headphones.

"And it needs to stop." Jacin added, sounding like a parent lecturing his kids.

"Hey, I'm just messing with ole Kai. Isn't that right, Kai?" Thorne defended weakly for himself.

"Right." Kai sarcastically replied to. But deep down, Kai knew it wasn't over. That was just a pre-round one, and the next time Thorne would come harder. He had to make sure not to reference absolutely _anything_ about Cinder before he would really be exposed.

* * *

 **8 days before.**

" _The very first time that I saw your brown eyes,_

 _your lips said 'hello' and I said 'hi.'_

 _I knew right then you were the one._

 _But I was caught up in physical attraction._

 _But to my satisfaction, you were more than just a phase."_

 _"And if I ever fall in love again_

 _I will be sure that the lady is a friend._

 _And if I ever fall in love so true_

 _I will be sure that the lady's just like you."_

Kai sang his heart out with his soft and rich tenor voice. He was singing a cover of "If I ever fall in love," by Shai for his popular Youtube channel. Jacin accompanied him by playing his keyboard in their hotel room. Wolf had went in the lobby to get some food while Thorne was in the arcade area, it was only Kai and Jacin left, so he figured, why not?

"I think that was good enough. What do you think?" Kai inquired.

Jacin gave him a thumbs up, indicating that he agreed. If anything, Kai assumed, Jacin's arms and fingers might've been tired from practicing the video over and over again whenever Kai thought he missed a note, or felt as if he could have done that certain run better, or if Jacin messed up a chord. Kai was just a perfectionist ready to point out any given error he could potentially make. _That_ , he thought, _is the main reason why I mess up anyway: thinking about all the things I can do wrong without absentmindedly flowing through the song._

"I'm famished," Jacin turned off his keyboard before standing up and stretching. "I might go to the gym and workout. I've been off my schedule lately. Wanna come with?" He flexed his already buff muscles in emphasis that he indeed fell short ever since the tour. Jacin was always very muscular. Not as muscular as Wolf; he was almost like a body builder in a way, but muscular enough to beat Thorne out of his six pack. The only reason why girls were not fawning over Jacin as much as Thorne was because Jacin kept his shirt where it was: over his torso. Whereas Thorne always unbuttoned his shirts wherever they went, and magically always found a way to get out of it, it always being discovered on the ground. It did not matter if they were doing interviews, meet and greets, after parties, award shows... his specialty was to throw his shirt out onto the crowd during performances to mainly show off his exposed torso, and especially on open night.

Kai was the only one out of the group who had absolutely no muscles at all, but he really didn't care. The girls liked him for how kind and sweet he was. Not to mention, his looks.

Kai shook his head at Jacin's offer, giving him a small grin. "Nah, do you."

Jacin shrugged before turning the knob of their door and grabbing his hat and jacket as his disguise. "Okay, man. See ya."

"Bye," Kai half-heartedly waved to him before the door was shut, leaving him all alone.

Automatically, Kai pulled his camera and uploaded the video onto his computer before uploading it on Youtube, the loading process taking at most, fifteen minutes.

Just when the load was at the 100% mark, a knock came from the door. Before Kai could become suspicious if it was a fan who tracked him down or room service, a familiar voice yelled from behind the door, "it's the handsome Carswell freaking Thorne!" Kai got up and unlocked the door for him to come in.

"Back so soon?" Kai joked, taking his place by the Apple laptop again.

"Didn't miss me?" Thorne joked back, winking before grabbing a Gatorade from the small, white fridge. "What've you been doing up here? I just passed by Jacin from the hallway."

Kai focused on the bright screen in front of them, typing his desired title for his new video. "I made a cover with Jacin."

"Oh," Thorne took a large gulp from his sports drink. "I'm surprised you weren't trying to get in contact with that Cinder girl."

Truth be told, before Kai requested if Jacin could play the keyboard for the bright idea of Kai singing a cover during his free time, he'd been thinking about her lately. He felt pretty needy and it was irritating how much she stayed on his mind. But today was different. Today, he was devising imaginary plans on contacting Cinder without it being creepy or awkward. He wanted to make it very casual and easygoing, but he didn't know how. The only person he knew who could do both of those things in any situation was the very same person who'd almost ratted him out and knew of his developing crush: Thorne. Kai was kind of thankful that he brought it up without him having to and possibly getting into another quarrel.

"Uh, I was perfectly fine with clearing her out of my mind before you brought her up. But if you must know, yes, I did think of her earlier."

Thorne sat on the couch next to Kai. "What about her? Do you need the _love guru's_ advice?" he teased. Since that faithful day when Thorne almost intentionally slipped up Kai's crush on Cinder, Thorne soon backed off and didn't pester Kai about her anymore. Which Kai was grateful about, but still a bit worried. He never knew if Thorne probably came up with some mastermind to get back on him. Other than that, Thorne made careless jokes about Kai's crush on her whenever Wolf and Jacin were out of hearing distance, and teased him often.

Kai glanced at him knowingly before turning back to his laptop screen, watching the numbers gradually increase to almost one hundred thousand in only a few minutes. "No. It's something a little more serious than that... I want to talk to her again."

"And?"

"And I don't know how to talk to her without sounding desperate or weird."

Thorne chuckled, almost choking on his Gatorade. "I think that ship has sailed. The easiest thing you can do is text her and ask how Nainsi's going... but of course, don't actually say 'Nainsi.'"

Kai rolled his eyes. "Of course I won't say Nainsi, I wouldn't embarrass myself like that."

"I think you already did the second you laid eyes on her, pal."

"How?"

"The moment you gave her that creepy grin like a pedophile." Thorne laughed hysterically.

Kai punched him hard on the arm. "Such great encouragement, oh great love guru."

* * *

 **4 days before.**

 _"Baby, I feel so alive now_

 _I'd say I'm sorry but I'm not sorry_

 _No, not at all._

 _No, not at all._

 _I'm having the time of my life_

 _Doing the things I like_

 _Living life to the fullest_

 _I've felt so euphoric_

 _I feel so free._

 _Yeah, I'm wishing_

 _Only the best for you_

 _Because this has been the best thing I have ever had._

 _I count the stars,_

 _Constellations,_

 _I see the moon_

 _Then the sunrise_

 _Above the horizon._

 _Yeah, I've never felt this good_

 _Baby, I've never felt this good._

 _Baby, I'll set you free_

 _Because you need to be free._

 _You need to see_

 _The world without me_

 _I swear it's just so precious_

 _Without me pulling you to gravity._

 _Baby, be free._

 _I've set you free._

 _I'm letting go._

 _Just be free."_

The Rampion Boyz rehearsal ended at the last song that would be their closing song at the end of the show. After a very long and detailed run through, Thorne and Jacin stood up from their assigned instruments and stood side by side with either Wolf or Kai and they all simultaneously took a bow as if the empty chairs were their audience full of people that would be there tonight. After singing thirteen songs, Kai immediately reached for his half full water bottle, gulping the entire thing and then sighing at how refreshing it was. After a radio interview that very same day and plenty of other to-do-lists the past couple of weeks, he, along with the other guys, could barely catch any sleep. To make sure they would be energized for tonight's show, they planned on going back to their hotel after the rehearsal to take some naps. Wolf, who could not take naps for anything, said he'd be fine with drinking some Red Bull.

"I could really use some Fuddruckers. Do they have Fuddruckers around here?" Thorne asked to no one in particular as they walked out the front doors of the building they would be performing in.

Wolf shrugged. "I don't know. But I wouldn't mind a burger. Maybe ask your dad to pick us up some, Kai?" Wolf politely asked.

Kai nodded, already texting his dad if he could get them some food. Since the guys could not go out on a regular basis anywhere, they had Kai's dad or one of his people pick up anything they needed or wanted. Kai felt very snobbish for asking of such things like _food_ for another person to get for him, but it had to be that way.

And of course, after texting his dad, he couldn't help but look at that text message he sent to Cinder four days ago. Kai was nervous; sweat practically dripping from his forehead and some panting that might've gotten involved after sending her a simple _hey_. When she didn't reply that night, he had waited a day after to see if she responded.

She didn't.

So instead of just greeting her with another hello, Kai came up with another message to send to her and made it seem like it was business related rather than a mere regular text from a not-so-regular guy. He instead said, _Have you started on my portscreen? If so, how's it coming along? Reply when you can._ Lame, that he knew, but it was the only thing he could come up with at the moment.

Once again, she did not respond.

So the third day came along. This time, Kai felt plain rejected and hurt, but it quickly turned into weariness after everything in the past few weeks came and hit him like a tsunami. That's when he finally called quits and barely thought about her.

Fourth day and she still didn't respond.

He really didn't care at this point.

Of course, he would be ecstatic and care if she replied at any given second, but he was not-and could not-be consumed of the ever torturing question that would linger in the back of his mind on if she would respond back today, and if not today then tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that.

He just did not have the time to think about those type of things.

* * *

 **1 day before.**

For the first time since what felt like forever, Kai did not think about Cinder once today.

He was too busy consumed with joy and happiness at being able to celebrate with the boys. They had their own private two-story resort room and two jacuzzis. They had all ordered a pizza, played on the PS4, and played cards to celebrate their day off. It would be the only day they would get until Sunday rolled around and approached them. But until then, it was all about the guys.

Thorne, as always, would make up something to play. This time, he worked his magic on the card tricks.

They had all took shots and wanted to see who could drink the most, it was a tiebreaker between Thorne and Wolf until Wolf beat him by one more shot.

Kai suggested that they should throw water balloons at the people outside and below them from their balcony.

They were all having a blast and snap-chatting whatever they good. It reminded Kai of their college days.

After all, they were just boys being boys.

At midnight, Jacin came up with a brilliant idea of pranking a sleeping Thorne with whip cream and a cherry on top of his nose.

Kai recorded the whole thing on snapchat.

Wolf had the cherry in his hand, ready to drop it meticulously and gently on Thorne's nose.

Jacin shook the can of whip cream, hovering over a snoring Thorne before putting the whip cream under his nose, making him have a mustache.

Right after Jacin was done and Wolf was about to add the cherry, Thorne twitched his head from side to side, before doing the infamous move that all people do and put his hand over where the whip cream was. All of them silently snickered, Kai getting all the footage with his camera on his phone of Thorne. He had smeared the whip cream all over his nose and face about now, and when he stopped moving, Wolf hesitatingly put the cherry on top of his slightly pointy nose, and they all waited for a little while before Jacin had the bright idea to use one of the sounds on his iPhone as an alarm to wake him up.

A loud _bleeeeeeeppppppppp_ came from Jacin's phone once he turned up the volume as loud as he could, and Thorne immediately jolted awake, a bloodcurdling scream came from him like he was in one of those massacre scary movies about to get killed. He immediately got out of the covers and ran out the room, and all of them stood there laughing at his reaction and how much of a girl he sounded.

"And there you go, folks." Kai turned the camera on his phone to him, posting his last snap for the night. "That is heartthrob Thorne actually getting scared for his life like a big baby." Kai couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Hey, Thorne!"

"What?!" he screeched from the living room of their suite.

"You sure you couldn't be an actor on one of those scary movies? Because I'm most definitely sure you'd make the cut as the screaming girl who gets killed several seconds before her plummeting death."

"Shut up," Thorne screamed.

Kai, Wolf, and Jacin all laughed hysterically.

Most definitely, this was the best moment of their tour by far to Kai.

* * *

 **After.**

Kai was trying not to doze off in the shower after the events held last night, making sure to throw cold water on his face after he stepped out the shower and got dressed. He wore a white t-shirt, baggy blue jeans, and white Nike's. It was around five o'clock and the guys would be going to an after party nearby their hotel.

Kai waltzed outside the bathroom and walked outside the hallway and towards the elevator with Thorne, Wolf, and Jacin, who were all still joking and reminiscing about last night. Thorne was still filled with resentment.

"Gosh man, you should've seen the look on your face!" Wolf's gentle yet deep voice said.

"I don't want to talk about it." Thorne murmured.

Kai waved his phone in the air. "And I have got it all on snapchat."

Thorne glared at Kai. "I thought I told you to delete it."

"Yeah well-" Kai started before pausing, feeling a vibration from his phone and the _ding_ that came along with it, knowing that it was a text message.

Kai immediately looked at the notification, and the person who appeared on the screen almost made it feel ike it was all a dream.

Cinder.

 _Hey, I haven't gotten to it_ _yet, but I promise you, I will sometime this week!_

Kai felt giddy inside, the first time in a long time. He felt the butterflies creep in from the pit of his stomach, and fell into those annoying stages of a crush all over again. Although the message wasn't anything special, he was glad she finally decided to text him back.

Before the guys could suspect something was up or ask any questions, Kai was smiling like an idiot looking at his screen. "That's what you get when you're caught off guard."

And boy, was that right.

* * *

 **Sorry for the slight delay, I just started school and already knew this chapter would be the longest one by far. Anyways, how'd you like it? Was it worth the wait? Please, do not forget to comment your thoughts and opinions, and if you like this story, make sure to follow and** **favorite! I know this may seem a little drawn out, but I promise, the plot gets interesting in the next chapter. Each boy will have ten chapters, although Jacin's might be a bit longer with all the things I have planned for him.**

 **QOTD: favorite guy character in the TLC series? Mines is Jacin :).**


	5. Chapter 5

**Fourth day.**

Never in Kai's nineteen years did he ever feel so infatuated, so elated, so _euphoric_ about a girl before.

Especially about a girl he'd only saw once and currently continuing to talk to virtually.

Ironic, huh?

Kai specifically remembered the countdown of all his crushes he ever had in his entire life; it ranged from when he was a toddler until of course, now.

Kai remembered in first grade, he harmlessly liked a girl named Annie Mayes. Annie and him sat next to each other in their little desks, and Kai became obsessed with her. She had those big, nerdy glasses that tilted off her face to the point where they looked lopsided, a redhead with light freckles right around her cheeks, and pale skin. Needless to say, you'd always find her with a sucker or lollipop in her mouth.

Well, Kai was so obsessed with this girl that he would give up his lunch money for her, leaving him only left with a juice box or Capri Sun. He vividly remembered that the very first day he gave her his money, she stared at the change and looked confused, looking Kai up and down as if he was crazy. He often found her big brown eyes very cute, especially when they were looking at him. From then on out, every time he would give Annie his lunch money, she would smile that pretty smile that made him blush and gave him butterflies.

But his world turned upside down one faithful day in the cafeteria.

Kai, as usual, gave Annie his lunch money. This particular day when he did, she tapped the guy that was in front of her, Kevin, and smiled at him with that pretty smile that she had been giving Kai for the past few months.

And what she did next shattered him.

She willingly gave Kevin the lunch money she got from Kai, and automatically, it all clicked to him. Kai liked Annie, and Annie liked Kevin. So whenever Kai would give his money to Annie as an act of kindness and affection, she would do the same thing, except, for another guy. Kevin.

The sight made Kai sick. His stomach churned, and even though he was only six years old, he was completely heartbroken. He remembered once he got home, he told his dad that he felt sick.

His dad had looked concerned, asking: "With what, son?"

Kai looked down at his shoes before replying: "A broken heart, dad. A broken heart." Kai started to sob.

If only he would've known it gets worse.

In Kai's freshmen year of high school, after plenty of admirable crushes from afar, he soon found another girl that he had a crush on.

Her name was Aisha Grover, and she had just moved from India to America. Kai, being an immigrant himself, knew what it was like to come into a new country, new culture, and a brand new school.

So he offered to walk her around the school.

The two became gradually close, and Kai developed feelings for Aisha, as did she. Aisha was his first kiss, and he'd like to assume that to this day, he was hers also. But one thing he knew for sure was that Aisha was his first girlfriend. Or, almost-girlfriend.

One day, the two walked out from school together, and Kai being the gentlemen that he was, offered to escort Aisha to her ride. What he didn't know, nor did Aisha, was that her father was the one who was in the vehicle. It was usually her mom who picked her up, and Kai knew this because he'd seen her countless times when he dropped her off at her spot. But that day was different.

They had been going out with each other for over five months, and the only person on Aisha's side of the family who knew was her mother. Aisha told Kai very quickly into the relationship that her father wouldn't approve and didn't want her dating at all. He made it clear that when she dated, it would be in her adult years. And if she dated, he'd better be Indian. Not some Chinese guy. Kai felt a bit offended, but he figured that he'd better get used to it. There were people in the world who were like that, and who he'd have to be affiliated with.

But he hoped, hoped, and even prayed with all his might that his first love wouldn't end that way.

And it most certainly did.

Her father was outraged once he saw her with some guy. It showed from the redness creeping in his cheeks and his yelling from the car. He forbid them from dating and seeing each other again. You'd think the two could be rebellious and see each other anyway, but just when the thought came up in Kai's mind for him to quickly regret it, Aisha had been taken out of school a week later to transfer to another one.

Far, far away from him.

Kai couldn't stop thinking about her his entire freshman year, and eventually decided to let it go during that summer transitioning to his sophomore year.

Then, fast forward to college.

Kai specifically remembered he had shared almost all his required classes with the infamous Carswell Thorne, and after sharing seats next to each other in every class they were in, making few conversations, and partnering up together on more than one occasion, the two were inseparable.

Thorne showed Kai his roommate, Wolf, who had a scary stature to him but such a soft and easygoing personality that Kai could not have stayed fearful of for long. He in fact felt guilty that that was his initial thought about Wolf. Thorne also introduced Jacin to him, who was close to Wolf at the time. Jacin had a cold demeanor to him, so it took a while for Kai to get used to him and vice versa. After layers and layers of how cold-hearted he seemed, Jacin had warmed up to all of them. The four became the best of friends.

Often times, Kai would see Thorne play his electric guitar in his room, or Wolf make a beatbox or sing softly with his bass deep voice, or even Jacin yank out his small keyboard and start playing. Kai himself would sing in the shower or if a certain song stayed in his head, he couldn't help but sing it out loud. Thorne came up with the idea of making Youtube covers, and placed Kai as the lead singer, Wolf on bass, Jacin on the keyboard, and himself on the guitar.

Word had gotten around in campus that they were starting a boy band called "The Rampion Boyz," based solely on the fact that Thorne wanted his Rampion (which was actually a very modern looking coach bus, what he needed it for before they used it as transportation for their tour or how he obtained it, the world may never now) to be apart of their up and rising careers.

The guys would sing at parties on campus, at bars outside of campus, etc. there would always be a group of girls flirting with him, since females always seemed to love guys that can sing. And Kai was that person. Along with Wolf, who had the girls fawn over his deep voice that made them swoon. They all took some for the team, primarily Thorne who'd always steal the spotlight by doing a crazy guitar solo, ripping off his shirt like alway. Kai did not mind girls paying attention to him, and on one and too many occasions, he'd always find himself kissing some girl from some performance they had done. That was when it was all new to Kai. That was when things were easier.

Kai's father, DJ Rikan soon realized that his son and his band were taking themselves seriously, and signed them to his record label. Kai's dad was their manager, Levana as their publicist, and his best friend, Torin, who Kai liked the most, as their stylist. They had dropped out of college in a span of a year, and was already developing songs for their first ever album.

And here they were, practically superstars. And here Kai was, involved with yet another girl again. He was kind of scared how this could all work out or blow in front of his face, he really liked this girl. He wouldn't say he was in love with Cinder, although. At least not _yet_.

Him and Cinder had been texting back and forth with each other for four straight days. At first, the first day was awkward until Kai made the move to ask general questions about herself, trying to make her feel a bit comfortable. But he knew it would take her a while to get used to casually texting a pop star.

Cinder started to boldly ask him general questions back, such as, _what's your favorite color? Favorite movie? Where haven't you gone in your tour yet? How'd you meet the boys?_

The questions, to Kai's surprise, gradually turned personal. And it would be a lie if Kai said he didn't love it. Questions such as: _what're you doing today? Where are you? How are you?_

Kai would always ask questions about herself, too. He would be the bold one, asking: _how's your sister, Peony? What about your friend Iko? How did you two meet? How are you today? Favorite food? What's your family like? What describes you?_

They could not stop texting each other, and eventually, it felt like Kai knew Cinder his whole entire life. With endless personal questions to her, Cinder finally gave him her background, saying she was a certified mechanic who often times would set up a booth at a marketplace near her. Her only friends were Iko and her step-sister, Peony. Peony was doing okay, but had the potential to do even better. She lived in a glamorous apartment with her not-so-glamorous (as she put it) step-mom and other step-sister. They treated Cinder like dirt and did not care for her. She was considered an outcast where she lived, and the question that was on Kai's top of the list, was how she had gotten her metallic hand. He'd never asked her directly, though. It was something she came up with and thought was important to include in her mini biography. Cinder had said that she got in a car crash when she was eleven, leaving her to lose a few limbs in the process. Her foot and hand were replaced with cyborg replacements.

Then, after Kai gave the small yet kind of secretive spill about him, saying he was just an ordinary guy up until his college year where he found Thorne, Wolf, and Jacin and their whole story on how they officially became the "Rampion Boyz," they immediately hit it off.

And after their fair share of personal stories, whether they'd be sad, happy, or silly memorable ones, they became closer.

Kai _felt_ as if they had a personal connection.

She had a reputation of being an outcast, but she was simply a girl. _Not_ a cyborg one.

He had the reputation of being the cutest and most popular boy in his boy band, but he was simply a guy. _Not_ The Rampion Boyz Kai one.

* * *

 **Sixth day.**

Cinder outright asked him through text, _Why me?_

Kai knew that the question would have to come sooner or later, so he had an automatic response to such a trivial question.

 _Because you're different from the rest_. Cheesy, Kai knew. But he'd rather it be truthful and cheesy than a lie to make her happy.

 _Why me?_ Kai flirted back, smirking as he saw the text send.

 _Because you're different from the rest._ Cinder caught on to his game, slamming his words right back at him. They'd been flirting ever since that faithful day when they came clean on almost all things personal. So personal that whatever things Kai told Cinder in six days was equivalent to telling the guys in six weeks. He talked about his chagrin, his struggles in life, and things of that nature. Cinder exchanged the same information.

But Kai was getting tired of reading words from his ever busy phone, he wanted to see her again. What was a 'lol' when he could get that perfect smile of hers? He needed face to face communication, not virtual.

 _Hey, is it possible if you could meet me by Southward Lake?_ Kai texted her. For the past week, Kai was scrounging for places where he was sure he would not get caught in if he were to ever meet up with Cinder, and Southward Lake seemed like a fair deal.

 _Yeah, of course. I actually wanted to tell you that I finished fixing your portscreen today._ Cinder responded.

 _Great! Meet me 5?_

It took Cinder over ten minutes to reply, and Kai got a little scared.

 _Yeah, that's fine._

 _See you then :)._

What Cinder had messaged back to him made him want to do a tap dance.

 _See you then, indeed :)._

Simple, but to Kai, it was a sign of something growing between him.

* * *

 _One more freaking hour,_ Kai pondered in his head. He'd been counting the hours to minutes, and minutes to seconds on when he'd finally get to see Cinder again. The boy hated to admit it, especially so soon, but he was in love. And each counting nanosecond that passed by was agony, making him more anxious to see her.

Maybe he loved the thrill of waiting for so long to see the girl of his dreams. Maybe it was something about her presence. No, Kai _knew_ it was something about her presence that brung peace and tranquility to his hectic and required energy world. Maybe it was how casual he could talk to her and she to him without him being in the lime light, or making him feel uncomfortable by only discussing the alter ego Rampion Boyz Kai him. Of course, he had his partners in crime that he could always talk to on a normal and regular basis, but he longed to venture out and make new relationships with other people who saw him for what he did, and not thrust upon him on every topic to talk about on what he is. He simply wanted someone to talk to about the weather, sports, social issues. Things normal young adults talked about. It was such a simple wish but an impossible dream come true.

Well maybe his dreams were coming true today.

* * *

It was exactly five on the dot when Kai was standing at their exact spot he'd requested them to. How he'd gotten out their suite was on perfect timing: once again, Jacin was going to workout, except with the company of Wolf and Thorne. And to keep them from suspicion once they came back to their room and saw Kai was missing without a single word of where he'd been, he made sure to tell them that he would be down at the studio where his father currently was at.

So that left Kai standing under a big oak tree that was his shade, looking out at the glistening, wide blue lake. As disguise, he wore his hoodie.

After ten minutes of standing there like an idiot and wondering if Cinder would stand him up, he felt relieved and ashamed to feel such a thing once he felt a light tap on the shoulder from the back.

He immediately turned around and was greeted by those same brown eyes he saw a few weeks ago. She looked the same: brown hair in a high ponytail, cargo pants, and a green tank top. Noticing the pieces of clothing she decided to wear, Kai felt hot from taking in consideration that he was wearing a _hoodie_ in the summer. The burning, relentless sun in Seattle, Washington. Not to mention, she didn't have her signature grease stain on her cheek like she did the last time, but she had a few dirt marks.

Nonetheless, Cinder looked pretty in his eyes.

She waved her metallic hand as a sign of greeting. "Hey, I brought your portscreen back." She rummaged through her satchel, pulling Nainsi out and giving it to him. "Sorry it took so long."

Kai started to grin as he shook his head, reaching into his pocket and grabbing a fifty dollar bill. "No, you're fine. Um... here," he thrusted the fifty dollars at her.

Cinder went from staring at his copper brown eyes to dropping her gaze down at his hand with the money. She gently pushed his hand away and back to his pocket, shaking her head. "Please, you don't have to pay."

Kai couldn't say he was shocked that she was doing this, but he wouldn't be taking no as an answer.

"No, please. Take it," Kai flashed his trademark swoon smile, making sure his clean white teeth were noticeable.

At this, Cinder slightly was hesitant to meet his eyes again, and when she did, they were full of doubtfulness. She reached out for his hand, grabbing the money and muttered a "thanks," until realization dawned upon Cinder that Kai wouldn't release the grip he had on her.

It was a bold move, a bold one indeed.

"If there's anyone who needs to say thank you, it's me." Kai sighed, preparing for the string of words he was about to say next. "This is going to sound real crazy, but I think I have a small crush on you." Kai didn't want to meet Cinder's eyes in fear she'd be looking at him like he'd lost his mind, which he would be certain he had if Kai was her. "This goes deeper than just a casual talk with some girls I've only seen a day in my life. I can't pinpoint how I know but there's just something about you that makes you different from the rest. Your aura-I mean, I could see it in your eyes on how you were looking that day backstage. Most of the girls that run into me lose their minds. But you-you seemed like you didn't have a care in the world, or at least not care too much in order for you to go bonkers and treat me like some superhuman, you just treated and looked and _talked_ to me like a person. And I like that. I really don't want it to stop either. I know I might be shocking you with all of this, and maybe taking it to a whole other level, but I just want to say that I really do appreciate people like you in this world. You make it easier to hang out and talk with, and that's exactly what I need at times."

Kai knew he was sounding very dramatic, but that's how he genuinely felt. Being in the limelight ever since his first year in college and it eventually keeping up with him ten times worse ever since their tour, he could never catch whether someone would act under control or not. If they were and willing to get close to him, he didn't know if they were in it for the fame or for him. But Cinder...

 _Cinder._

 _Cinder._

 ** _Cinder._**

Cinder was different.

She stood there perplexed for a few minutes, before his grip grew slack and she hesitantly pulled back. "I'm glad I could be that person. I just don't know how this will-"

"-work out?" Kai finished for her, not wanting to put her under that agony of the weight of her words, and not wanting himself to hear them from her.

Cinder slowly nodded, finding the courage to stare him dead straight in his eyes. "Yeah."

Kai shrugged, and lead her closer by the river before he made the move to sit down on the grass. "I can't say either. Keep in contact with each other, at least?"

Cinder soon followed pursuit, joining him in sitting on the grass, and they were joined by hip to hip.

"Yeah-yeah of course."

"So now that I've got you here in the flesh, I've got a whole lot of questions for you." Kai put his whole attention to Cinder. "Do you think Peony will make it to our final show here in Washington?"

Cinder started to sigh at the question. "Possibility. She's still up on her feet." She chortled. "And ever since she saw that video of you that Iko recorded, she couldn't stop smiling. She practically had the thing on repeat." Kai could see Cinder's face light up at the memory.

Kai himself started to smile at the good news. "I'm glad to hear that. Speaking of which, how's Iko doing?"

Cinder let out a small and faint laugh-in which Kai concluded was way better to hear in personal than a measly 'lol.' "You mean your stalker and biggest crush? She's been doing fine. Ecstatic to see you again on that last performance you guys have here in Seattle."

Kai smiled at the mention of Iko, Cinder's ever bubbly and talkative friend that did most of the talking for the both of them. He kind of missed her. Although, she wasn't as chill and didn't downplay her reaction to him as Cinder did, he still liked the fact that she could fangirl without falling out at the sight of him. Her fan-girling involved talking his head off like there was no tomorrow. But hey, he didn't mind it at all.

The two talked for what felt like hours, although it was only half an hour before Kai yanked out his phone to see what time it was and was awestruck at the fact that it was indeed five forty-six. Kai explained to Cinder that it was best for him to get going less the boys would start blowing up his phone, and before they both departed ways, Kai reached in for a hug that Cinder complied to. A hug from her he wouldn't be getting for a while after this one.

"I'll see you soon, _Cinderella_?" Kai teased, whispering in her ear. What they had going on was unrealistic in a way, something that was hard to obtain when it came to celebrities finding normal-yet-not-normal-almost-girlfriends.

Kai could feel Cinder shaking her head from his shoulder. "In your dreams, _Prince Kaito._

* * *

Kai was starting to wake up from his deep sleep and dream of Cinder in the morning. He had envisioned that the two of them went on an actual date to the movies. What movie they went to, Kai couldn't tell you. All he dreamt was the cliche sharing of popcorn, cuddling next to each other as much as they could-

-"what is this?" Thorne screeched, catching Kai's attention. Thorne's voice was so alarming and loud, it sounded more menacing and agitating than the alarms on his phone.

Kai immediately jolted awake, squinting his eyes at the very bright phone screen before him.

What he saw made him want to vomit and cry at the same time:

 _BREAKING NEWS: Boy band's very own lead singer Kai dating a robot?_

 _Crap,_ Kai's head swarm in panic. _I_ _'m **busted**. _ The picture showed a clear shot of Kai's face smiling while gripping Cinder's hand.

Her _metallic_ hand.

* * *

 **Didn't expect that, did you all? I came through with two updates in a row! Comment your thoughts on this cliffhanger of a chapter. Make sure to follow and** **favorite if you like this story, and for the question on how old all of them are: Kai is 19, Jacin and Thorne are 20, and Wolf is 21. Once again, I really appreciate every follow, favorite, and comment. Mainly comments because that's like a writer's best friend :). Until then amigos y amigas!**

 **QOTD: Favorite tic couple? A run-down of mine: 1. Jacinter 2. Wolfet 3. Kaider 4. Cresswell... I like all of them, don't get me wrong, but I think I get an overdose of Cresswell more than the other ships. I'm not too crazy for them at all, but they're** **likable.**


	6. Chapter 6

"Why are you just sitting there like an idiot? GET UP! What the hell, Kai!" Thorne pulled the hand where his phone once was to his chest, looking like he wanted to punch something. He kept pacing back and forth like a walking bomb ready to explode. Kai could not help but watch the dreadful scene. In the back of his mind, he kept cursing and cursing and cursing. And he kept asking and asking and asking.

 _Why me?_

 _I should've known._

 _I'm such an idiot._

 _Did I really think I could go unnoticed for under an hour?_

 _Should I have picked a better hiding place?_

 _Has Cinder seen this yet?_

No, he couldn't possibly think of that. There were too many things going on for him to process already, just dwelling on the thought of when Cinder would hear the news crushed him. He could picture her brown eyes get a little teary, or maybe her hard day at work making her even more overwhelmed once she'd see her blurred face on any social media platform. Maybe her step-mom would drag her into an all 24 hour labor at their luxurious apartment that was not free access for Cinder.

He simply couldn't think about her at this very moment.

He had to figure out a way to explain. Then again, what was there _to_ explain?

He had to figure out a way to quench his pounding heart, his panting, his widened eyes, his damp black hair that was covering his forehead.

He had to come up with a way to calm a fuming Thorne.

Footsteps could be heard coming closer and closer to where Kai and Thorne's room was, and they were greeted by a sluggish Wolf and Jacin at the door.

"What's going on?" Jacin growled while wiping his eyes.

Thorne turned around from his stance at the wall to face Jacin. "You wanna know what's going on?" He yelled, his eyes gleaming with anger.

As if getting caught by the press and lectured on by Thorne wasn't enough, Kai shook his head. "Thorne-"

"- _this_ is what's going on!" Thorne hissed, pushing his phone towards Jacin and Wolf both to see. Jacin slowly grabbed it from his hand, Kai assumed he already read the headline. With both of them reading the article, their faces turned from drowsiness and surprised to disappointment.

Jacin slowly looked up at Kai before squeezing his eyes shut. "Is this true, Kai?"

Kai sighed, still under the covers and still not processing this whole thing. He'd been caught.

He'd been _caught_.

"Kai," Jacin said more harshly.

"Yes," Kai responded. "Yes, yes it is true."

He saw both Jacin and Wolf shaking their heads, and Thorne looking like he was ready to explode. His jaw was tense, both of his hands were formed into fists. Kai tried to figure out what was going through his head, besides being furious. He knew that Kai was interested in Cinder. Heck, he even knew that Kai went so far as to contacting her. Maybe Thorne didn't take him serious when he said he liked her and she was different. Kai knew Thorne would've never guessed in a million years that Kai would try to sneak behind their backs unattained and meet up with her. Because that would be too much of a foolish move.

Foolish Kai was, and in love he is.

In love Kai was, and foolish he'd be.

Naive and stupid he was, how he'd manage to ever recover from this, he didn't know.

"So much for leaving him be with his _love life_ , right Jacin?" Thorne retorted.

Jacin still shook his head in shock, glaring at Kai with those ice blue eyes that could freeze someone. " _What_ in the world is this? _Why_ in the world did you meet up with this chick?"

"Stars above, you said you would be meeting up with your _dad_ ," Wolf spoke up, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, well, that's what he gets for lying to us and deceiving us. You get _busted_. I think what will never cease to amaze me is the fact that he thought he wouldn't get caught. Such an idiotic move, Kai. And how long was he gone for?" Thorne directed the question towards Wolf and Jacin, sarcasm dripping from his mouth.

"About an hour," Wolf sighed, his voice filled with betrayal. Kai felt a sting of penitent.

"Look, there's a lot going on... just do _not_ let this happen again, alright?" Jacin's voice was stern, pointing his index finger directly at Kai. "This is _not_ something I want to be rudely awakened about early in the morning. I'm going back to bed. We have some long days ahead of us."

"Yeah, we do. I think I'll be going back to bed myself," Wolf agreed, following Jacin back upstairs to their separate rooms.

Kai was glad that they could save it for later, earning him more time to generate some ideas on how to quench this disaster. If only the main person he wanted to avoid would back down. _Thorne_.

Thorne was still standing right in front of his door, his eyebrows furrowed, stance hardened, and his eyes looking like they could tear Kai to pieces at any given second.

If Thorne looked like a raging bull, it did not show through his voice. His voice was wavering from the sudden height of emotions, but it was low and timid. "What did I tell you that day backstage?"

Kai shook his head, gulping down the huge lump in his throat. "Thorne, not now." His voice was shaky.

"No, tell me." Thorne persisted, not letting Kai back down from this one.

"I don't want to-"

"- _tell me_." Thorne's blue eyes had darkened, and his smooth, brown hair was damp around his forehead.

Kai's shoulders slumped down from his already sluggish posture like a man defeated.

He _was_ a man defeated.

No, he was only a _boy_ that was defeated.

Before he could answer Thorne's rhetorical question, Thorne saved him from his embarrassment.

"Fame and girls don't mix. Get that in your brain and quit thinking your heart is what you should believe in, because it's only going to cause you more problems. It will, and already is causing _a_ _ll_ of us more problems." Thorne let out a half-hearted chuckle, eyes rolling to the back of his head. "You might be the favorite, but now everyone will realize how much of a _fool_ you are. And here I was thinking I was the biggest fool out there. But _you_ ," Thorne pointed his finger at him. "You've beaten me by several points. I mean, _really_ Kai? A _robot_?"

"She's not a robot," Kai growled.

"Well that's what they're saying right here." Thorne pointed to the article on his phone.

"You out of all people should know not to pay attention to the press. That girl right there has a _name_. Her name is Cinder, and she's a cyborg. _Not_ a robot."

"Her name right there?" Thorne mimicked bitterly. "Her name is temptation and nuisance, and I don't ever want to hear her associated with _your_ name or _our_ reputation ever again. Cut. Her. _Off_." With that being said, Thorne stomped off to his part of the suite.

Although Kai was in too deep and knew it was too soon and too early in the morning, he immediately grabbed his phone and messaged Cinder once he felt that he was in the clear.

How could he approach her?

 _Did you hear? You're all over the internet, with me._

 _Um... so we got caught by the press and guess what? They had the audacity to call you a **robot**. I mean, how crazy is that?_

Instead, he sent out a simple text.

 _Are you okay?_

Of course she wasn't, but in times like these, his options on what to say were limited, and the most obvious question would be the most safe to ask.

Kai knew it would take her a while to respond back to him, maybe a few days.

And he was okay with that.

He _had_ to be okay with that.

* * *

 **First day.**

 _"Say no more, baby_

 _I wanna see you, today._

 _Today, I'll swing your way_

 _I wanna be where you are_

 _Baby, baby._

 _Could you let me?_

 _Baby, baby._

 _I wanna hear your voice_

 _Baby, baby._

 _Say no more, baby_

 _I wanna see you today._

 _I gotta see you today,_

 _Baby, baby._

 _Baby."_

Kai sang a run-down of songs on their album, this one being a bonus track that they would sing for the last performance they had in Seattle. This song was a duet shared with Wolf, who joined in at the "baby, baby" part and had his individual verse.

Right after they finished practicing the song, Kai's dad gave them the signal that they could take a break.

A break was what Kai needed, except from _everything_.

Kai was no later approached by his dad yesterday after hearing about the incident, and was given a long, drawn out lecture. A lecture he zoned out on in less than sixty seconds.

He'd been checking his phone every other minute since yesterday, waiting for a phone call, a FaceTime, a text from Cinder. He was not surprised when she didn't respond back to him. He knew the girl needed some space if word had already gotten to her

To make matters worse, the guys weren't talking to him unless they had to. Unless it was _business_ related. It was something he was afraid that would happen between all of them. And his nightmare was coming true.

* * *

 **Second day.**

"Has anyone ever felt sorry yet not sorry at all about letting someone go? This song's for all my guys out there. One, two, three, go!" Thorne screamed, fiddling with his guitar while speaking on his mic to talk on, his shirt unbuttoned and hair disheveled. They were already playing their sixth song for the packed crowd tonight.

 _"Do you know right now that I'm problem free?_

 _Do you know right now that I'm so happy?_

 _'Cause ever since you left my life_

 _I quit moping around_

 _trying to figure out what I did wrong_

 _after every fight we had._

 _Things got way too hectic_

 _and I would go to the bar every night_

 _thinking bout if we'll be alright_

 _well now it's safe to say I wasn't right."_

Wolf picked up the pre-chorus after Kai finished his verse on the song, his deep voice getting a wave of attention as the spotlight turned to him and the girls screamed. Wolf's cheeks got even redder.

 _"I just wanna let you know_

 _that since you're out of my life_

 _I've been hanging with_ _the guys_

 _taking shots like no tomorrow._

 _I just wanna let you know_

 _that I'm doing fine._

 _Hope you're doing alright._

 _Hey, girl_

 _I'm sorry_

 _No, I'm not sorry_

 _That we didn't end out right."_

Both Kai and Wolf joined in for the chorus.

 _"Whoa, oh, oh!_

 _Whoa, oh, oh!_

 _I'mmmmmmmm sorry_

 _No, I'm not sorry_

 _That we didn't end out right._

 _Whoa, oh, oh!_

 _Whoa, oh, oh!_

 _Hey girl, I'm sorry_

 _No, I'm not sorry_

 _that we didn't end out alright."_

Kai started to sing the second verse.

 _"Forget the days that I said I would die for you._

 _I just wish those days would come back, it's true_

 _that I miss you but it might be for all the wrong reasons._

 _I just want someone I could vibe with and you,_

 _You and me,_

 _you and me,_

 _we had that something._

 _You were my everything._

 _Hey, you and me_

 _you and me,_

 _we were inseparable, babe._

 _Here comes the non-sober me,_

 _here comes the sorrowful shots and the drinks._

 _But I know, I know_

 _That I'm better off without you._

 _I'm sorry but not sorry,_

 _I just had to cut you off and_

 _it's only for the best,_

 _the best, the best."_

Kai nearly cried from those words at how true yet untrue his situation was.

* * *

 **Third day.**

"This is power 93 coming back at you with an interview with your favorite boy band, the Rampion Boyz!" DJ Kenzie, a girl with cotton blue hair and a numerous amount of piercings said animatedly.

"So tell me," Kenzie gestures to all the guys seated next to her in a row. "Who are the Rampion Boyz?"

"Well you have the heartthrob of the group, which is me, Carswell Mcsmooth Thorne."

Kai could tell that DJ Kenzie was trying to hold back her laugh. "Okay, okay! What about you, Wolf? Actually, where did the name 'Wolf' derive from and how does it symbolize you?"

Wolf smiled his cheesy smile, the sides of his teeth hanging like fangs. "This is the first person that asked me about my name, surprisingly. Well for starters, my actually name is Ze'ev Kesley. I was given the name Wolf in my high school days. You see, I was kind of the bad boy type and quite a troublemaker who got into a lot of fights. So, since I've never lost a fight and came off as a very scary and abrasive kind of guy, they started calling me Wolf. And sooner or later, I started to call myself Wolf. It just kind of stuck."

DJ Kenzie nodded her head in understanding before moving back to Thorne, whose shirt was magically unbuttoned. "And _you_ , Mr. Carswell Thorne. How is it that your shirts magically disappear wherever you go?" she chuckled in amusement at whatever stupid but charming thing he was about to say.

"Well you see Kenzie, I have a way with the ladies... and sometimes, I get a little ahead of myself. But just like how you could associate Michael Jackson with the glove or Prince with the color purple and his flamboyant style, my signature move is to roam shirtless, if that makes sense."

Kenzie folded her hands under her chin, leaning in closer. "Mhm," she encouraged him on.

"Now of course, there are haters out there, and it just so happens to be the people I work with." Thorne gestures to all three boys. "They all give me crap about it."

Jacin rolls his eyes. "We're not hating, we just think you do a little too much at times."

"A _lot_ too much," Wolf smiled.

DJ Kenzie shifted her attention to Jacin. "Now Jacin, I know you really don't like speaking, and you're the most quiet in the group. I have to say, you seem like the most mature. Are you like-and I don't want this to come off offensive-the _dad_ of the group?"

Jacin flashed his sunrise smile, all of them feeling cameras flash around them. "Well, in a sense, I guess. I never really thought of it like that. But yes, I'm the one that keeps all of them in balance when they get to be a little illogical. I'm also that person whose just the realistic and 'don't do this because so-and-so' type of band member. I keep them all in check, you could say."

DJ Kenzie nodded before moving onto Kai.

Kai didn't really want to contribute or speak in fear of the events that took place just this week that could be used against him. It was still a fresh new wound that needed healing, not just for him, but for all the guys. There was always tension between them these days.

"I see you've been very quiet over there, Kai. Don't think I forgot about the fan favorite of the group! How's life going for ya?"

Kai forced a grin to appear on his face. "It's been going good. You know, this is our first ever tour and I couldn't be more excited to be on the road and meet most of our supporters and just see different cities." What Kai had said was only half true.

"Interesting, interesting. Now, I know you know that this question would come up sooner or later, but there's been a picture going viral on the internet of you and a mystery girl. Care to share who that is? Does Kai have a girlfriend?" DJ Kenzie teased.

A blush crept in Kai's cheeks. "No, she's not my girlfriend. Just someone that I deeply admire and appreciate."

"Oh. Well where did you all meet?"

Kai dreaded where this conversation was going, feeling all eyes on him in a sudden twist of dead silence. What was just so lighthearted and cool became an interrogation room for him. He could feel his bandmates looking at him, daring him to mess up or spill new information that he'd never revealed to them before.

"We met at our first concert here in Washington backstage. She was with a friend, and was just a very cool person to be around. She willingly offered to fix my portscreen after I had confessed that I was looking for someone to fix it, and we've been talking ever since." Kai thought he downplayed it very well, even if he didn't want to. In order for everyone to stop freaking out, he had to give out the impression that they were just acquaintances., not two people who had a developing relationship going on. Not some pop star of a guy developing a crush on a cyborg.

"Ah, I'm sure the girls would love to hear that. What do you have to say about this whole situation?"

Kai squirmed, wanting it all to be over. "I have to say that to everyone promoting hate or anything of that sort, please, _stop_. Do not believe every magazine you pick up or anything the press may put out, because it could all be a lie. She's no robot, and that's very offensive to her and to people like her who may be disabled and have prosthetic replacements. We're just casual friends, nothing more and nothing less."

Except, it was something more and would cost him something less after this.

* * *

Kai was close to dozing off in their suite, his phone on top of his stomach and his head laying on his comfortable, soft pillow in his bedroom. He was tired of all the things that took place the past week and only wanted to rest. He only wanted to clear his head and go back home in Arizona, or even take a trip to his birth place, China.

All of a sudden, he recalled the conversation he had with his dad when he was taking that giant step as a celebrity. Kai thought he was ready then, and he still is, but you know how all that goes. You just never really know what you get into until you do, and that was exactly his current condition right now.

 _"Son," DJ Rikan started. "You'er about to start your first ever tour in the summer, and I just want to make sure you're prepared."_

 _"Dad," an ever so cheerful and excited Kai began. "I'm so ready, you don't even know. I can handle it, I've made it this far."_

 _That was back when he didn't have any bangs under his eyes._

 _That was back when it was still all new to him, fresh out of recording their album._

 _That was back when he didn't know the meaning behind his life changing words._

 _DJ Rikan looked at his son like he knew all too well about young credulousness, as if he had been there before. He could see the exhilaration in Kai's eyes on what was to come, could see Kai fidgeting his hands, could see the days marked on Kai's calendar in his room of the countdown until the Rampion Boyz tour began._

 _"Okay, son. Okay. I just want you to become affiliate with what you will be facing."_

 _But with words like those in comparison to life decisions like these, it would take more than a small yet serious talk for Kai to get the bigger picture._

 _It would take experience._

Looking back wistfully at the memory when life seemed to be all rainbows and sunshine and not a tornado or hurricane, Kai missed those days. Those days when he was only a kid who could sing. Those days when he was just a youth and nothing more than a youth. Those days when he could actually be a youth.

He was young in the scene and the youngest of the group. Sometimes, Kai himself would forget he was only nineteen doing big things.

Kai felt a vibration on his stomach, coming from his phone.

He knew all too well what that meant, but didn't know.

He didn't know if it was an important business call or just a friend. A girl friend.

 _Cinder._

As Kai flipped his phone around to where he could see the notification, a name popped up.

 _Cinder._

He made sure not to get his hopes up, and he was glad he didn't once he saw the string of words right next to her name.

 _We should take a break and not speak to each other anymore._

Kai felt his heart drop.

* * *

 **Another cliffhanger! I'm pretty sure you guys will hate me after this. I know, I know. Poor kid, he can't seem to catch a break. But that's the type of writer I am and how this story will be :) *cue the cackling and inwardly laughing.* I know you're thinking, _an update three days in a row? How?_ Free time is how and the encouraging reviews you guys give! Don't forget to comment your thoughts and opinions on this chapter, and if you like this story so far, don't forget to follow and favorite. I really really really appreciate everyone whose been a supporter of my story since day one. A special thanks to MastaGamerita, PennThewriter, and everyone in general! To the comment about how wolf is the only one that can drink, wait till we get to his story next *wink, wink.* Kai's story is almost over, we have four chapters left! Guess what you think will happen. Also, re-uploaded this chapter again because I didn't see it appear on the website that there was a new chapter on it.**


	7. Chapter 7

_We should take a break and not speak to each other anymore._

Kai never understood the meaning behind "taking a break." In his eyes, it always meant just that: taking a small break from each other. Gradually finding each other after giving each other some space. Not the true meaning behind it. Not breaking up.

Besides, why not just say that you want to break up with said person? Why get their hopes up with a "take a break" when you could tell them straight up how you really feel? That you want to break up. Kai finally understood, and you could say that there was a first for everything.

Although him and Cinder were never official or even dating, Kai liked to think that they were at least talking. Leading up to dating. But he was a fool, fool, fool.

And she was just a girl, girl, girl.

And he was a burning star, star, star.

He felt like he was just a star away from becoming burnt of all the publicity, fame, and stairwell to fortune.

She was a nobody, nobody, nobody.

He was a somebody, somebody, somebody.

But deep down, if you stripped his status, he was only a boy.

Boy.

 _Boy_.

* * *

"C'mon man, you've been sleeping under the covers for over an hour." Thorne declared.

"It's not like I have anything to do today," Kai muffled, his face covered by his pillow. "It's my day off."

"It's my day off," Thorne retorted in a high-pitched, whiny voice. "Listen dude, _we_ have something planned to do today and _we all_ have a day off. One thing we are _not_ going to make the mistake of doing is letting you sleep in and drown in your pool of sadness." Thorne yanked Kai's covers, making Kai groan in frustration at the sudden exposure of him in his boxers.

"Can I at least have one day to myself?" Kai was seated on the edge of his bed, ruffling his messy jet black hair.

"One day to feel pity for yourself? Because you've been doing this ever since Monday. Now it's Thursday. We've been pitying and trying to help you out along with your extra self-loathing. Get off your high horse. There are first world problems people go through like poverty, unemployment, etcetera. And you're here moping over a girl. Go take a shower and get some dignity along with it, dude." Thorne raked his fingers in his hair. It was true. After Kai had received that text from Cinder on late Sunday, it reflected in his behavior and emotions that following Monday. The guys eventually came around and was concerned for him, and after empty sounding "it's nothings," Kai came clean that he was not okay and not all right. Thorne, Wolf, and Jacin were all on a mission to get Kai on the right track and be happy again.

But Kai didn't think he would ever be as happy as he did before this tour started.

His heart was broken and he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't do anything to mend or tend to it. He couldn't just throw in the towel and call it quits. He could not dive into his pool of melancholy for even a minute without the press, tabloids, and fans tampering in around him. He hated feeling and sounding like a lousy whiny rich kid who was incapable of manning up for everyone and pleasing people all the time. But that was draining. It was getting to be too much. He needed this time to himself.

"Can I at least have one moment to myself?" Kai put his hands over his face.

Thorne nodded. "Yeah, of course. I just want to hear shower running within the next five minutes or so." Kai could hear Thorne's footsteps leading out his room.

Kai shook his head. "Okay, mom." He muttered quietly to himself.

"What?" Thorne yelled.

"Nothing!" Kai yelled back.

* * *

"C'mon guys! Where are we going for the last time?"

"You said that 'for the last time.'" Wolf grinned, patting a heavy hand on Kai's shoulder.

"Well I'm kind of anxious."

"And we're here!" Thorne announced as they all walked out to the front entrance of their hotel, greeted by a party bus.

Kai arched an eyebrow. "A _party bus_?" he inquired.

"Yes, a _party bus_." Thorne retorted, the doors of the bus opening with welcome arms. "We figured since we can't go anywhere public or in our noticeable Rampion, why not have a few shots in a party bus?"

"Be actual nineteen and early twenty year-olds," Jacin added.

"Cheer you up!" Wolf smiled.

"And catch up with each other." Thorne patted Kai on his shoulder. "I know there's been a lot of disruptions and disputes between all of us. And I know I've been giving you the most crap. But hey, we're trying. At least tonight we can have fun and be boys. Hop in dude."

Kai slowly walked up the steps of the party bus, greeted by a hunky guy who looked like he could've made the cut for being a body builder. Looking around the bus and all of them taking seats, Kai was in awe. It was a small disco in the center of the ceiling that radiated with different colored lights in the dark bus, two rows that sat from across each other, bottles of champagne, alcohol, and liquor of sorts that was stacked by where Thorne was sitting on a shelf, and the music was practically vibrating under their feet.

After all of them were settled in, the driver took off.

"Whooooooo!" Thorne hyped up. "Anyone for shots?"

All of them complied. Thorne started to pour champagne in red cups and handed it to each guy.

"Cheers to guys' night out?" Thorne held up his red cup.

"Cheers!" Kai, Wolf, and Jacin all replied back.

Kai felt he never had as much fun as he did tonight.

* * *

Hangovers, Kai can tell you, are the absolute worst.

At least, to Kai.

He woke up with the crack of dawn. Instead of birds chirping or chickens "crock-a-doodle-doing," you heard the sounds of Kai vomiting and a toilet flushing.

Kai didn't understand how the other guys could do it. Not waking up without feeling queasy, dizzy, or nauseas.

Kai guessed that that was the perks of being older and more experienced. Besides, he was not the smartest last night. He decided to be a trooper and golfed down not only champagne but vodka and gin. He felt as if he should've been dead by how many shots he took of each.

But no, his kind of dead this morning that came with the nausea was the realization of what happened earlier that week.

Cinder had cut him off.

Cinder said they should take a break.

Cinder said they shouldn't speak to each other.

Cinder wasn't sounding like Cinder.

Cinder, Cinder, Cinder.

He hated to start off his day with negative thoughts about her that took away from his astounding night with his best guy friends, but he was not in control of his mind. Something he strongly despised and tried to devise ways of controlling it, but it was always out of his hands.

Like today, like yesterday and the day before, the day before, the day before...

He'd been thinking about what him and Cinder could be to what could've been. He'd been thinking about all the wrong things that lead to their exposure and planning what-ifs in his brain on all the things that he deemed were right and could've made them undiscoverable.

Although he was over thinking and was sad, puking on the edge of a toilet, he felt frustration build inside of him. Frustration that he let this get to far. Frustration at how stupid and naive he was to think it would all work out. Frustration at possibly getting her in deep trouble with her already broken family and peers. Frustration that he was going through so much pain and hurt and no comfort all because of a _girl_. Frustration that all he ever thought about was _Cinder, Cinder, Cinder_.

Frustration that he even felt this way.

Then, like a light bulb coming off, an idea popped in his head.

 _Why not go back to the very thing that made you famous? That took you this far? That's your remedy and your lullaby?_

 _Music._

So Kai got off the luxurious floor and found the courage to get on his feet, speed walking back into his room before he'd forget all the jumbled things running through his head.

He laid down on his stomach on his bed, reaching for his notebook that he tucked under his king-sized bed that came with his pen and flipped through pages just to find a blank one and started writing away.

 _They say we learn through the pain_

 _Well, why am I trying to mask it with bottles of liquor and alcoholic drinks?_

 _I'm just getting by for a thing called life._

 _I'm juggling the fame_

 _The drenched in gold magazines_

 _And the screaming crowds I see_

 _Each time I step on that stage_

 _But it's always been me and my pen._

 _Maybe I should let it flow like a water stream._

 _Looking out my window pane,_

 _I think I might've landed in a window of pain_

 _So simple yet so strong._

 _I've been stung and it's not by a bee._

 _I'd like to call it cupid,_

 _but that's what got me in this mess_

 _Shame on me._

 _I'm sorry for disrupting your life_

 _Shame on me._

 _Sorry cannot cut it_

 _All I can say is_

 _Shame one me._

 _It was a short-lived_

 _So close yet so far away dream._

 _And I shattered it to pieces_

 _I do what I do best_

 _I'm a naive fool for love completely._

If those song lyrics were Kai's therapy, he'd already been slightly cured because a part of him felt at peace. Relaxed. Released.

 _Free._

Sure, he'd think about Cinder throughout the day. But it no longer got to him and suffocated him like a poisonous snake. No, rather, it'd come and go when he told it to, if that made sense. He really didn't know what made sense anymore, other than he couldn't live life looking at everything bad and what he could go without, but what was positive and what he could go with. Kai suddenly remembered why he signed the contract, why he'd agreed to do this and go on tour and face everything that came with it. Because as long as he could write with his pen on paper, he'd be content. As long as he could pour out his feelings through his lyrics with background music and everyone would love it, he was satisfied.

He'd be satisfied.

* * *

 **Sorry if that was kind of short, rushed, and crappy for you all to be waiting a few days for a new chapter. But we all need some filler chapters every once and awhile, especially on what's to come on these last three chapters if Kai's story. Can you believe it? Kaider is almost ending! Do you like his story so far? How do you feel about his character, struggles, and relationship with Cinder? What do you think will happen in these last few chapters? Please follow and favorite if you like my story and make sure to always comment! They brighten my day. Till next time!**

 **QOTD: If you could date any tic guy in this story, who would it be?**


	8. Chapter 8

There it was.

The very last night that the Rampion Boyz would be staying in Washington.

Kai wanted to feel nostalgic about it, but couldn't. All he felt was the sudden urge and wanderlust to head towards their next destination in the Midwest.

"You ready boys?" Thorne said unto his mic, clicking his drum sticks together.

"Ready!" They all screamed.

The crowd roared.

Kai began to sing their very first song, Wolf joining every other sentence as background.

 _"I have all these cards to pull_

 _Somehow I still chose you_

 _I've got the world in my hands_

 _I still remain where I'm at_

 _That's you_

 _I've got these tricks to play_

 _I don't give them away_

 _But baby,_

 _When I tell you that there's one that works every time_

 _It's being a fool for you_

 _Oooooh, oooooooh_

 _I keep on being a fool for you_

 _Oooooh, ooooooh_

 _I keep on being a fool for you."_

* * *

"Wow," Wolf said after taking a huge gulp of water. "Our last show here in Washington."

"Yeah," Thorne put his drumsticks in his backpack. "Best believe we'll rock the Midwest."

Kai could hear the guys talking about their Washington show finale and the perks and irks of it before he zoned out into his own world.

 _1 out of 15 shows completed._

He had made it out of his first show on tour officially. The audience had left, with the exception of a few screaming fans that they could hear coming from outside. Otherwise, it was just him, Thorne, Jacin, Wolf, and their team packing up for their next adventure on the road.

"I really wanted to visit the White House, though." Thorne pouted.

"Hey," Jacin rolled his eyes. "We're not _that_ famous."

"But we will be." Wolf smirked.

Thorne snapped his fingers before they all waltzed off to their backstage rooms, leaving Kai by the exit door where the cookies and punch were. "That's the spirit Wolf-man!"

Kai let out a closed-lipped smile at his closest friends. At their time here in Seattle. At the prank they had pulled on Thorne and the party bus. At feeling at peace and alive for once, not tortured thought of girls in the mix.

At least, for a millisecond.

The exit door suddenly flung open, and it snapped Kai out of his daze, leaving him to automatically feel panicked and shocked. He felt his heart skip a beat like the fretted people in those horror movies. It couldn't have been a fan, had it? Kai was almost certain he himself had personally came out and interacted with them.

But no, it was the last person he had wanted to see in order for him to end his experience here in Washington out right.

Well, the second to last person he wanted to see.

 _Iko_.

While Iko did nothing wrong, she had a strong bond and connection with Cinder. Anything that could remind him of Cinder these days rushed into his brain and quickly fled out after realizing the mistake it made. But for someone to stand right here in the flesh as a possible spokesperson for Cinder made him nervous and tortured by thoughts of her all over again.

Before Kai could ask in his head what did she want out of all people, he had almost forgotten his morals and what he'd told Iko the last time he saw her. That he was looking forward to see her at his last show here in Washington. That he had given her, Cinder, and Peony tickets.

As if Iko could read his mind, she stepped a few inches away from him and slightly waved, her mouth turning into a frown with her blue braids cascading around her face. "Hi."

Kai found it in him to put up his biggest smile he could offer at the moment. "Hey Iko," he cheerfully responded.

"I come with bad news..."

Kai knew it wasn't just the "Cinder couldn't make it because she had work today" kind of bad news. It had to be something more... something _deeper_ judging by Iko's body language and facial expression.

"Um..." Iko sighed, shrugging her arms. "Where do I even start? Well, the reason why you don't see the bubbly, beautiful Peony here is because she passed away a couple days ago."

 _Passed away?_ Kai pondered. _A couple days ago?_

Kai suddenly felt a surge of pain and sadness for the girl he never got to meet, only had heard of. He felt like he was mourning the death of one of his supporters... he _was._ As Cinder put it, his _number one_ supporter. Kai recalled Cinder telling him that the girl was only fourteen.

"And when word got out about that picture with you and Cinder, she was angry. But the one who was angriest the most was her step-mom, Audri. Anyways, the day before the concert she decided it was best not to come. The most logical not to either." Iko forced out a small laugh. "She was too embarrassed anyway."

Kai all of the sudden felt his heart pour out to Cinder. He felt ten times worse than he did before he was accepting fate and enjoying life. _He_ caused all this.

 _He_ wanted to meet up at that spot.

 _He_ got her in trouble.

 _He_ got himself in that trouble.

Before he could speak up, as always, Iko beat him to it.

"But I also come with good news! Just," Iko stepped closer to him. "Don't tell _anyone_ , as Cinder put it." Her voice dropped.

At the mention of Cinder and words that came from her, Kai felt his heart hammering through his rib cage.

"She wanted me to tell you to meet her at a nearby alley when the flea market in Seattle closes tomorrow. Exactly at four-thirty. Got it?"

Kai nodded his head repeatedly, looking like a bobble head.

"Good. Remember, don't tell anyone. And most importantly, _don't_ get caught."

 _Don't get caught._

"I have to go. Do you know the _struggle_ of me trudging my way in here? I felt like I would lose a limb or two by the time I made it in. Now I have to make it _out_ without security catching me."

Kai could only smile at Iko's change of character. Her _true_ bubbly, talkative personality that contrasted the timid and serious one just seconds ago. It came handy in situations like these.

"How about I lead you myself?"

"Will I make it on the front cover article?" Iko sarcastically asked.

Although it still stung to Kai, he pretended to joke along also. "Nah, I'm pretty sure we're in the clear."

Kai took Iko to the nearest short cut and escorted her to her car, making sure to be quick before anyone can notice him even quicker. Trying to calculate how much time he had until Thorne, Wolf, and Jacin found out he had gone elsewhere.

Generating ideas on how he'd sneak out tomorrow to see Cinder.

Cinder.

 _Cinder_ **.**

He was ecstatic to see her again. Eager. Elated. Maybe even _fan-boying._

 _He was going to see Cinder again._ That was all he could think of after watching Iko pull off into the sunset, and hurrying back into the building.

Kai wore a toothy smile on his face just like he did the day they first met because he was going to see Cinder again.

 _Let the obsession and torture of her begin again._ Kai mentally rolled his eyes at how much affect this girl had on him. How he could do nothing about it.

The worst part was that he didn't want to do anything about it.

* * *

 **Another short one, I know! But hey, I updated twice in a row. These last two chapters are going to be very long, so don't worry. As usual, follow and favorite if you like this story so far and leave a comment.**

 **QOTD: Do you think Cinder and Kai will get together in the end? What do you think Cinder wants from Kai and why she wants to meet up with him again? How would you feel if you were in Cinder's shoes?**


	9. Chapter 9

Devising a plan that included the boys trusting Kai not to do anything as stupid as he did the last time was hard, but he still managed to come through.

He decided that he would meet up with his father for a father and son day, in which he actually planned on doing rather than it being a plain lie. Kai went so far as to having his dad come up to their suite just to reassure the guys that he was telling the truth of his whereabouts. Which, to Kai, was rather sad, but necessary.

At least, this was half the truth.

After Kai had his couple of hours with his dad at his studio after getting pizza, Kai decided to pull out his brand new hoodie from his book bag, meticulously going out from the back exit door no one ever thought to leave out of.

The good news about coming from the studio was the fact that the flea market in Seattle wasn't far away. The walking distance had only been a mere two blocks. Kai decided a good time to start heading out towards the flea market was around four fifteen.

Walking down the sidewalks of Seattle and feeling the burning sensation of the sun on his back made him both sweaty and embarrassed at how others would perceive of him. What kind of person wears _hoodies_ in the summer again? Oh yeah, Kai. But he had no choice at this point.

To add on to his little disguise, he decided to wear some sunglasses that his father had offered to him back at the studio, in which Kai silently thanked him for while walking, making sure to keep his head down and not look too suspicious than he already was.

Soon but not soon enough, Kai finally made it at his destination. He'd arrived around four thirty-five, and although he was five minutes off, it was in his best interest that he was. There were still people setting their tents, tools, and other things to make a profit off of back in the trunk of their trucks or cars. Among all of them, he could see Cinder, towards the far left.

Cinder, who Kai could've sworn was purposefully taking her time in gathering all her things.

Cinder, who was accompanied by Iko and some other guy trudging right behind her.

Cinder, who had a frown on her face. Kai assumed it was because things didn't go exactly as planned.

Cinder, who for the second time would get Kai preoccupied into getting caught again. Snapping out of his accelerating heartbeat and complete euphoria at the physical sight of her again, Kai dashed behind the huge blue garbage can, getting on his knees to make sure he would not be seen.

Although Kai despised all the flies zooming around him and the garbage can itself, it was worth the ten minutes just for him to see and talk to Cinder again about whatever she wanted to talk about.

Everyone had left at this point except for Cinder, Iko, and that mysterious guy that was so close to Iko. Kai decided to wait an extra five or so minutes just to make sure everything was in the clear before he stood up and walked towards them.

"Hey," he said softly. More so to Cinder than the other two.

It was already five o'clock, and the sun wasn't beaming as much anymore. But Kai would never forget that smile on Cinder's face that glowed up everything around him. "Hey, Prince Kaito."

Kai chortled at that. Prince being the given nickname from Cinder, and Kaito being his full name. He wasn't too fond of that name and preferred Kai better. He had told Cinder this, and what fun did she have tossing it around.

"Cinder, no one calls him _Kaito."_ Iko scolded before looking towards him. "I prefer Kai better." She smiled.

"I'm glad we can agree," Kai grinned back, not wanting to grin too hard just in case that guy would try to confront him about it. He'd already noticed the way his arms looped through Iko's waist immediately after Kai came from behind the garbage can.

"Oh!" Iko gasped, getting out of his grip. "Where's my manners?"

Cinder turns back to Iko, looking at her expectingly. "Yeah, where _are_ your manners?"

"Kai, this is my boyfriend Kinney. Kinney, you already know who Kai is but this is Kai!" She squealed.

 _Kinney_ Kai thought. _It kind of fits him._

The guy was tall and lean. He reminded Kai of Jacin, as far as his stature and build was concerned. Kinney had tanned skin and wavy brown hair. Kai really couldn't detail his eye color from how close he was to Cinder and a little distance away from him and Iko. Needless to say, the sun was starting to go down.

"Nice to meet you, Kinney."

Kinney nodded. "You too," he switched his gaze towards a frantic Iko, heading towards her car while gripping his wrist firmly. "Well, we're on our way! Bye Cinder!" she winked. "Bye Kai!"

Both Cinder and Kai watched as Kinney and Iko disappeared into the almost-night, leaving Kai and Cinder to themselves. Kai knew it was the plan for Iko to do so.

Cinder misted up a grin, all of her mechanical utensils and tent left in Iko's car. "So..."

"So..." Kai mimicked teasingly.

Cinder very lightly punched him on the shoulder. "Shut up."

Kai smiled at her like an idiot again before saying, "I'm glad to see you again."

Cinder smiled once more. "I could say the same about you, I don't think I will right about now after everything that's happened."

At saying this, both of their smiles faded, and Kai dropped his stare towards the cement ground. "I'm really _really_ sorry for getting us busted. Heck, it's dangerous meeting you here right now. I never meant to cause any trouble. How are you holding up? Did your step-mom-"

-Cinder raised her metallic hand, signaling for him to stop his bantering. "It's-it's alright." She stuttered. "I was the idiot and the fool. I'm more so mad at myself for agreeing to meet you. I almost forgot," she trailed off before closing her mouth.

 _Almost forgot you were the Rampion Boyz Kai. That you were a superstar._ Kai cringed at the realization.

Kai shook his head, trying to overcome the panic that was taking a toll on his body. This was _not_ how their third meeting should go. "No, we're both at fault in some way. The thing is, we're back and we know better now. I don't want to talk about the last time we've seen each other anymore than you do. But I have to ask, how are you? Really?" Kai prodded.

Cinder shook her head, her brown eyes looking directly at Kai's. "I've been holding up all right. At first, it was initial shock. I wasn't too overwhelmed with emotion. More so, I was too worried about the death of my step-sister, Peony. And then my step-mom, Audri, who's already going through a rough time as it is and to hear about this... she transitioned from the grieving stage to raging with anger at me. Same with my other step-sister, Pearl. By the way, I was grounded. That person who sent you that last text from me about breaking up was Pearl. Surprise, surprise," she waved her hands, forcing herself to laugh at how absurd the whole situation was. "Audri took my portscreen as part of my punishment, and Pearl told me about what she did. Although I must say, I'm surprised at how she didn't ask you to meet up with her. And I'm pretty sure you know the rest from Iko." She finished, fidgeting with her gloves. Kai could see those signature dirt smudges covering her face and grease stains, and he didn't want her face any other way than that. He didn't want her to ever get a makeover. Kai liked Cinder for just how authentic and real she was.

On the other hand, processing all the new information from Cinder herself, he was glad that the text was not directly sent from her. Regardless of the predicament they were in right now.

"First off, Iko told me everything involving Peony. I am _so_ sorry for your lost. And I must say, I am absolutely glad it was not you that sent the text, because I can't explain to you how heartbreaking that was. Then I got over it." Kai made sure not to say _you_. "Then I saw Iko. Then I thought of you. Then she told me everything. And that's when I couldn't stop thinking about you." Kai smiled from ear to ear, watching Cinder's face glow up from sadness at the mention of her late step-sister to happiness from Kai's last words.

Cinder placed a hand on her hip. "Poetic much?"

Kai squeamishly shrugged his arms. "I've been practicing my craft."

Cinder nodded her head slowly in agreement. "I can tell," she teased.

Kai playfully rolled his eyes. "Ya know, you had me writing a _song_ about you. A _song_ Cinder. That's how much you mean to me."

At this, Cinder's eyes widened. "Really? Over _me_?" she asked as if she was shocked and finally waking up to the fact that _the_ Rampion Boyz Kai was interested and writing a song about _her_.

"Yes," Kai smiled. "The awesome, mechanic, wonderful, beautiful Cinder, yes."

Cinder walked up to him, making sure they were only a couple of inches apart and face to face with each other. "Don't you think it's strange?" her voice dropped low. Kai almost missed picking up what she was saying if it wasn't for the dead silence around them.

"What's strange?" Kai hinted at where she was going with this, but he wanted to hear her thoughts nonetheless.

Cinder shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know... maybe the fact of a maybe _us_? This stuff doesn't happen in real life-"

"-but it did." Kai pointed out, winking.

"Yeah-yeah it did." Cinder rolled her eyes at him. "What I meant to say was things like this doesn't _normally_ happen in real life. A superstar on tour with a _mechanic_? A somebody with a-"

 _Nobody_ , Kai thought in his head.

"-with a _somebody_." Kai cut her off, detecting her insecurities. "No one is a nobody. _Everyone_ is a somebody, regardless of what social ranking they may classify in. Everybody is a somebody. And yeah, I'm not oblivious to the fact that our situation is kind of bizarre, but people fall in love in mysterious ways. And usually, those are the best stories. I'm not blinded by our situation with how far away we've been from each other, but I'm tortured and blinded by thoughts and visions of _you_. Yes, Cinder, _you_ and only you. I really really really want this to work out, and I don't want you doubting us and putting yourself down because of who I represent in society and not because of who I am. I know, a megastar is asking a lot from someone as normal like you, but that's the main reason why I'm believing in us. Because when you first interacted and saw me, although you may have thought I was anything but a normal person you would walk by on the street, you still treated me like a human being. And me being a human, I need love and someone who treats me like a normal guy too. I hope I'm not asking much of you, because I feel like I'm not due to how you are, Cinder. I'm not going to front and say I know you from the back of my hand, but I know you well enough." Kai ranted. Fingers raking through his hair.

Sweat on his forehead.

Heart beating relentlessly.

Eyes piercing back at his.

Cinder never ceased her stare at him. "I indeed _can_ handle it. You just have to know that it's just all so new to me... to feel wanted, to be desired, to be noticed, to be a somebody. Of not just everyday people in general, but of _you,_ Kai. A pop-star in the making. I'm an outcast and an outsider. Even I can get a little taken aback at times that you're really _the_ Kai. But above it all, just know that I'll always and forever see you as just that. Kai."

The way Cinder said his name so softly, so simply made him want to kiss her. But he shoved that thought in the back of his head, saving it for the one and only thing he planned to do. Kai was no fool in letting Cinder slip away like this in what would probably be their last meeting. The Rampion Boyz would be heading to Wisconsin in two more days.

Kai cleared his throat, trying to ease the seriousness in the atmosphere before lightly punching her on her shoulder. "I hope you did not think I travelled two blocks just to talk everything out with you, right?"

Cinder furrowed her eyebrows at him in curiosity. "That's what a reasonable person would do." She stated slowly.

"Well," Kai reached for her wrist, dragging her along with him. "You'll soon come to find out that there's absolutely _nothing_ reasonable about me."

Cinder shook her head, having no choice but to comply. "You're crazy."

"Crazy for you." Kai shot back.

"Crazy corny."

They both laughed.

* * *

"For the last time Kai, where are we _going_?" Cinder tried opening her eyes, but couldn't.

Kai currently had his hands over her eyes, always responding with a "I can't tell you" or "it's a surprise." Which only further encouraged Cinder's questions.

They'd been walking for what felt like forever to both of them. Cinder for her curiousness on what this mysterious place was, and Kai for the adrenaline and excitement of Cinder's face once she'd see the surprise.

"And we're here!" Kai pulled his hands away from Cinder's facing, letting her see again.

They were inside a older looking building in a ballroom where old couples took dancing classes in. Although the building itself was coming of age, along with its residents, the ballroom looked marvelous and renovated. The floor was a stainless marble, they were surrounded by white walls with intricate persian patterns and entered from glass doors. To top it off, there was a white, glittering chandelier that was placed above them, as humongous as could be. The instructor, a young Latino woman, rushed to them in assistance.

"Are you all sure you're in the right place?" she asked politely with concerned eyes, noticing the immense age gap between Cinder & Kai versus the elderly people.

Cinder laughed at the question. "I'm honestly not sure myself." Instead of saying Kai's name, she looked up at Kai, who still had his sunglasses and hoodie on, standing out even more.

"We're in the right place. I actually wanted to come here just to teach my girlfriend here some dance moves."

At the word _girlfriend_ , Cinder risked a inquisitive glance up at Kai, before turning back to the woman and smiling.

"Oh. Okay then. I hope you all enjoy yourselves. By the way, my name is Alicia. You can always call on me if you guys ever need anything, okay?"

Kai nodded his head. "Sounds fine to me. Gracias, Alicia."

"De nada," Alicia smiled before walking back towards her class full of old couples.

Cinder turned her body towards Kai, feeling the warmth in his arms wrapping around her waist. She had no choice but to put her arms around his neck.

"Really, Kai? I must admit, this came as a surprise to me. If anyone knows me, I'm not exactly the dancing material."

Kai chucked in amusement, tightening his grip on her. "I am not the dancing material either, but I know a couple of moves."

Cinder quirked an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

Kai grinned. "Yeah really. It's a slow waltz. And it fits perfectly with this jazz song they're playing right now! Follow my lead. One, two. One, two. One, two."

Both of them started chanting until Cinder started to get the hang of it, going from watching their feet to looking up at Kai's eyes.

They laughed when the other stumbled or said something totally random and at the whole scene playing out before them. They were dancing with the _elderly_.

"Nothing wrong with old people, they tend to be the best type of people." Kai replied.

Soon enough, they ditched dancing once they heard the ice cream truck come around with the little toon. It gave both of them a sense of nostalgia once they caught up with it.

Kai was glad he had a couple of crumbled dollars hidden deep in his pocket, handing it to the ice cream man to buy two strawberry shortcakes. Glad he went the whole day without getting noticed, they both sat on a curb in back of the old building where dance lessons for the elderly was taking place at. Kai and Cinder relished in blissful silence, causally saying a few things here and there before going back to eating their ice cream. They were both lucky they finished when it started to rain and thunder. When Kai realized it was way pass time for the both of them to get back to where they were meant to be. When reality called him.

They both stood up after flinging their leftover sticks to the side. As if things couldn't get anymore cliché, Kai reached for both of Cinder's hands and brung her close to him, invading both of their spaces.

"I'm not going to say love, because that's a little too soon in whatever we have going on." This time, Cinder initiated conversation. "But I will say, I like you, Kai. I like you a lot." She smiled that heart warming smile of hers.

"I'll take that as a compliment." Kai laughed softly. "I must agree with you, Cinderella. I like you, too. _Way_ too much."

And with that, Kai immediately pressed his mouth over hers, engulfing her in his embrace. Although it was only a few seconds, almost a peck, it was still a kiss. It was still just as passionate. It still filled in everything they couldn't explain or say or express to one another. It still filled that empty void on what will happen next, on when they'd see each other again.

Cinder, to Kai's dismay, was the one who pulled back first. "Should we be doing this?"

"Why shouldn't we?"

"It feels too much of a goodbye."

Kai sighed, not wanting to jump into this conversation. "Whose saying goodbye? Why can't we say a 'see you later?'"

Cinder let out a close-lipped smile. "Sure."

Kai still held Cinder in his embrace, their bodies still pressed together and arms wrapped around each other despite the rain and thunder.

"Please, please say yes when I say this." Kai started, closing his eyes shut nervously.

Cinder already knew, her eyes glinting with a knowingness on what he was about to say. And despite the hope,

despite the longing,

despite the desire,

there was fear written clearly in her eyes.

That still didn't stop her for saying what she was going to say next.

"Yes. _Yes_."

* * *

 **I didn't expect to end with that ending for this chapter, but I guess you all can figure out what Kai was going to ask *wink wink.* I told you all that this chapter would be extra long (at least I hope it is). Please leave a review if you all liked this chapter, they really make my day! Also, follow and favorite if you like this story so far. We have ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT! I'm so excited to have almost completed Kai's story, and I'm** **ecstatic about starting Wolf's. Also, please comment on your thoughts of how I depict Cinder and Kai in my story. Am I still staying true to their original character and/or characteristics? Basically, do they seem out of character to you or not? Please and thanks, I'd really like to know. I would also love it if you checked out the prologue to my upcoming story after completing this one called "The 1960's." Summary and everything is on the story, and I'd love it if you all would review your thoughts and opinions and follow and favorite!  
**

 **QOTD: any predictions on what you think will happen in Wolf's story as we close off Kai's?**


	10. Chapter 10

_I'm gonna miss you so much, babe :(._ Kai texted Cinder

 _I'm gonna miss you to._ Cinder replied right away.

If it wasn't for Kai and the guys boarding the Rampion to their next destination in Wisconsin this morning, he would've been FaceTiming Cinder at six in the morning around this time like he'd always been doing this past week since Cinder said yes.

 _Since_ he had Cinder's heart.

Since he asked Cinder to be his girlfriend.

 _My girlfriend._ Kai's drowsiness turned into a state of euphoria. A smile crept up on his face before he could stop it. He just loved the way that sounded on the tongue and in his head. Cinder was _his_ girlfriend. And he was Cinder's boyfriend. The boyfriend she would only hear over the phone, would only see through FaceTime, could only communicate through texts.

But Kai still hadn't told them about his secret girlfriend.

He didn't think he would ever tell them so long as he could hide it, preferably after the tour is over.

He couldn't afford another heartbreak, the guys turning against him, his anxiety rushing with all the unwanted publicity.

Kai, Thorne, Wolf, Jacin, DJ Rikan, and the rest of their crew were all at the front of their suite, putting all of their suitcases and souvenirs in the Rampion.

"Hey, hey, hey," Thorne bossed everyone around. If it was one thing he was consistent with and could excel at, it was staying on top of his Rampion. "Put that over there," he told Wolf before Wolf complied.

Jacin and Kai rolled their eyes at the scene, the four of them being the last ones to get on the Rampion.

"What?" Thorne caught the way they were looking at him. "This," he pats his hand on the Rampion's outer body. "Is my baby. _Nothing_ is going to stop me from protecting her."

Jacin shook his head before going up the few steps on the bus. "Whatever. Where'd you even get this thing, anyway?"

Thorne snapped his fingers at Jacin before getting on the steps with him. "That, is between me and my Rampion."

Kai knew Jacin was scowling at Thorne, both of them hopping inside of the Rampion before it was only Kai standing.

"Are you getting in?" Wolf's soft yet deep voice spoke up. He was walking towards Kai.

Kai jumped. Not only did he completely forget that Wolf was still outside too, but Kai still was on his phone texting Cinder. He quickly tucked his phone in his back pocket.

"Yeah," Kai said before walking up the steps and getting completely inside of the Rampion. "I was just scoping Instagram."

Thorne smirked, sitting on the drivers seat of the coach bus. "'scoping Instagram,'" he mimicked. "Who says _scoping_?"

"People who are smart enough to use it." Jacin retorted back, resorting in those two to get into a full-blown argument.

Once it started to dwindle down due to Wolf and Kai being the peacemakers they were, Wolf was just about to put his foot on the last step before he turned around and yelled, "Kai!"

Kai immediately got out of his seat, rushing to where Wolf was. Wolf turned and looked up at him, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He moved his body so Kai could see who it was, and low and behold, it was Cinder herself.

Although Kai's heart leaped from seeing her again, it also ached for the confrontation that would stir up between him and everyone else in the bus. He couldn't help but curse Cinder for pulling such a surprise on him, yet praise her also. Kai wanted to see her for one last time, just not like this.

Not this way.

 _Why_ this way?

Then Kai thought, _it had to be something important._ Because why would she pull something as idiotic as this? Where she had nowhere to hide and exposed herself not only to the fans and the public who was so used to her face being blurred for the past couple of weeks, but his very own team members.

Kai could only stand there speechless, he knew Thorne knew who she was. And he was ready for Thorne to open his big fat mouth and tell everyone else on the bus.

Before Kai could take a step forward, Thorne pulled him eye level down to himself and whispered venomously, "why is she here?"

Thorne's tone of voice was so cold, Kai couldn't help feeling the hairs stand up behind his neck. "I don't know."

"Oh, you must know something." Thorne spat. "I thought you cut things off with her?"

"I never said I did."

"A person with common sense who got busted by tabloids and-"

"-rejected by his friends because of it should've?" Kai spoke up a little louder, capturing everyone's attention that was aboard the bus and off. "Listen, I'm tired of you," Kai started pointing at Thorne, whose grip he broke away from before pointing at Wolf and Jacin. " _All_ of you telling me what to do. You think that since I'm the youngest, I can't make decisions for myself and don't know what's right from wrong? Well, I do. You think I'm naive? Maybe I am a little. But not as much since this whole tour started. Let me handle my business without you all interfering like you all have been doing since this whole boys band thing started and let me _live_. I may make mistakes on the way, but I'm learning from them. But Cinder?" he pointed to the girl with the cargo pants, black tank top that was probably making her hot in Seattle's relentless sun, the brown hair pulled back and big brown eyes that was frightened by the spotlight on her. But, she should've saw all of this coming to make her grand, surprising appearance in the middle of the sidewalk. "Cinder is by no means a _mistake_. She's one of the best things that's happened in awhile to me. You guys don't get it and may never will, but she understands me. She can relate to me. She likes me for _me_ , she only wants me for _me. Not_ Rampion Boyz Kai, me. And I don't care if you all may not like her, because I do. Let the tabloids say what they want to say, I know very well what might happen. They'll only target me and come for my reputation, not any of your untouched and perfect ones. We can't stay perfect idols for long, you know. If there's anything I learned from this one tour so far, it's to let go of your ego and reputation for the sake of your best interests. Because Cinder is one of mine."

For awhile, the whole bus stood silent from Kai's powerful rant. And then, surprisingly, DJ Rikan spoke first.

"Son," he stood up from his seat, meeting Kai's widened eyes. "If this is how you fell about her, do what's best for you. You know boys, when we planned out this tour, I didn't want you all to be all serious and business. I wanted you all to have fun, I wanted you all to be the young adult's in which all of you are. And like Kai said, part of being an adult is making mistakes and not being the poster-guys for perfection like you all may want to come off as, because that can come off as un-authentic. And that's the number one rule in my book: stay true to yourselves. Don't lose yourselves to the fame, to what the public and the tabloids and what Hollywood wants you to be. Be who you are, and that's human. Now I'm not going to lie," DJ Rikan threw a questionable look at Kai. "I know my son has not been perfect and has made some idiotic decisions, but can I hold a grudge and stay mad at him? No. He learned, and he's living his life the way he wants to without hurting anyone but potentially himself. All I want is for him," he started to gesture his hands to everyone else. "And for all of you boys to be happy on the road and be happy doing what you do. That is all," he clapped his hands, before snapping them at Levana. "Ms. Blackburn, pass me a bottle of champagne. This lecturing about life lessons is making me weary."

Everyone laughed at that final comment, easing the tension in the bus. Before Kai could talk to the rest of the boys, they all circled around him.

Even though he made good points and his father stood in as defense, he could't help but become nervous one the look Jacin always had on his stone cold face came into play. The way Thorne arched a questionable eyebrow at him. The way Wolf crossed his arms over his chest.

"I forgive him," Wolf said first. "I mean, did he really mess up our reputations? Besides, what's a reputation anyway if you don't break it?" he chuckled.

Kai joined in, Cinder and her waiting on the back of his mind.

"I think you may have pulled a Thorne on us, Wolf." Jacin added. He looked back at Cinder before turning back to Kai. "So _that_ _'s_ the infamous mystery girl everyone's been going crazy about? I must say, I'm not as forgiving and welcome arms as Wolf and your father, but the situation is out of my hands. It's not my love life after all, and I kinda regret hammering into it."

"Yeah, don't you have a girl back home you need to take care of?" Wolf smiled.

Jacin let out a painful smile that made Kai's heart squeeze out his chest. He felt bad for the boy that couldn't reach his own best friend and what could've been lover over the same problem and difficulty Kai was having right now. "Yeah, I do."

And then there was Thorne.

Thorne closed his eyes shut for a minute, then massaged his temples before opening them. "I guess I've been the hardest on you, which I'm usually the most 'hey-it's-whatever-bring-a-girl-to-our-crib' type of friend. Although, I am still kind of pissed about this whole situation by far, like Jacin said, it's out of my hands. The only thing I have left to do us accept it." Then Thorne pulled out his famous wink that followed a playful smile, that smile Kai missed this whole Washington experience. "Besides, if the girl is that good in the sack that you can't keep away from her, keep her." He punched Kai on the shoulder before the other guys booed him. "Go get your girl whose attracting a crowd of fans and reporters out there already, dude."

Kai rushed out the bus to embrace Cinder in a long and passionate hug. He took in for the last time till God knows when her scent, the feel of her body enclosed in his, the warmth of her body, that human contact that he wouldn't be getting from her in a long time.

"Tell me," Kai started after they were pulling away from each other, well aware of the audience they were entertaining. "How can I miss you and you're right here with me?" he smiled.

Cinder smiled that playful and teasing smile back. "I don't know. All I know is that I feel the same way. And by the way," Cinder rummaged through her satchel before pulling out a pair of sunglasses and inspecting them. "I really don't know who these belong to," she faked, her smile getting wider by the day. "Are they yours that you left behind?"

Kai didn't even realize he was missing a key component to his non-thought out disguise. "I think they are." His smiled turned playful with her, an arm wrapped around her waist and the other reaching for his sunglasses. "Although, I don't remember losing them." Kai raised an eyebrow at Cinder.

Cinder shrugged. "Maybe I stole them just to have an excuse to see you one more time before you go. I'm gonna miss you, ya know." She said wistfully.

Kai nodded his head in agreement. "I'll miss you more."

"I'll miss you most. Now go!" She shooed his arms off her, pointing to the Rampion. "Get on that bus and do your job!" She exclaimed. Before the audience could engulf her, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and one half-smile before running off into a distance, out-smarting the fans and reporters that wouldn't think about following Kai's mystery girl than just getting the answers from Kai himself. He was pretty sure they caught plenty of pictures of her, though.

But so what? His friends were coming around to understanding and accepting his decision, his dad was backing him up, and he was full of glee. He did not mind answering a couple more questions and leaving his mark here in Seattle before heading to the Midwest.

After the constant screams from fans yelling Kai's name or asking him to sign whatever they wanted him to sign along with a string of reporters, Kai was one step to hopping on the bus before the very last reporter asked him one last question.

This reporter was a woman. She had thick glasses with a full suit and skirt on with heels, looking as professional as could be. "Who is that girl to you?"

Kai had no choice but to smile and reminisce at the bittersweet departure he just had with Cinder. _His_ girlfriend. "She's my girlfriend and she's no robot. She's a human whose original human parts have been amazingly and awesomely replaced."

Kai couldn't have been any prouder at his very own words defending his girlfriend. _His_ girl.

 _My girlfriend._ Kai thought for the thousandth time this morning. _It will never get old_.

Cinder was his Cinderella, his missing shoe.

 _His_ missing counterpart.

 _His_ lost princess that he would automatically come back to once the madness was over and business was taken care of.

* * *

 **Soooooo how'd you all like it? Tell me your honest opinions on the ending: did you like it? What could've been better? What were you expecting? Was this higher or lower than your expectations? Please comment, follow, and favorite this story! I can't believe Kai's story is over and finished. Now, onto Wolf's**

 **QOTD: what were the highlights of this story that stood out to you all? Things that you all thought could've been better or was just right? Things you weren't expecting? On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best, what would you rate Kai's story? I think you all will like Wolf's even better :).**


	11. Chapter 11

**W O L F**

Thorne sniffed out the air. "Do you smell that?" he rhetorically asked.

"The smell of your revolting breath?" Jacin retorted, not touching his requested drink.

"Nah," Thorne shook his head, cackling like a maniac. "I think another beer is calling me. Bartender!" Thorne waved towards a slender and petite looking girl. Her name, Thorne learned, was Émilie. Wolf knew Thorne already liked Émilie, who seemed slightly intimidated and shy towards him. Every so often, though, Wolf would catch Émilie throwing side glances at him.

Kai nudged him. "That girl seems to have an interest in you." he whispered, smirking at Wolf.

Wolf slightly shook his head, his face flushing. "Don't remind me."

"Go get her, tiger." Kai teased, laughing before taking a sip of his virgin Piña Colada.

The only reason all of them were in a bar was because of Thorne's bright idea to do so. Although all of them were underage except Wolf, Thorne magically convinced Jacin and Kai to go. What could Wolf say? The man had a way with words and manipulating people into doing the things he wanted to do. The downfall that always occurred in Thorne's ideas was that once they arrived at the bar, every girl automatically noticed them. For that reason, they were coaxed to sing their song "Without U," which was a song dedicated to picking and hanging out with bros over girls after a breakup.

Once they finished their mini performance, they all wanted to get drinks (minus a bickering Jacin). For the first twenty minutes, they we're bombarded with girls flirting and fleeting all over them before security came in to discard them.

Apparently, it was karaoke night, and if it wasn't for the admixture of horrendous singing on one song and a fairly decent voice for the next, Wolf couldn't tell the difference. He was too busy on the verge of getting tipsy.

Wolf was sitting on the far right side where bartenders were serving, which meant being closer to Émilie's side of the table. Kai was sitting right next to him on his left side, then came Thorne & Jacin.

Wolf looked intimately at Émilie from afar, taking into consideration Kai's words.

But Wolf was too shy for that.

Wolf shook his head. "I don't know about that," he confessed to Kai. "I'm not too invested."

Kai chortled. "You haven't even gotten a _word_ from her yet. Maybe rescue her from Thorne, whose determined to bring her back with us."

This was true. Wolf never liked it when Thorne lured girls to their hotel rooms or anywhere that was their private quarters. It was beyond disgusting to Wolf and disrespectful to women. On top of that, Wolf was never really the type of guy who talked to girls or was ever really into girls. Not to say he didn't like girls, he wasn't girl-crazy. Unsurprisingly, he maintained that restraint when the Rampion Boyz started to get more recognition and popularity, which always meant girls being around. Female fans were all they had, and not once did Wolf try to hit on or flirt with any girl he ever encountered. Smiling when appropriate, being polite to them, and only saying a few words was in his lane. He was never a huge talker. He assumed that's why he clicked with Jacin better than Kai and Thorne, because both of them didn't have much to say and could be comfortable with silence filling the atmosphere. The difference between him and Jacin, though, was that Jacin wasn't a talker because he was too busy being far separated and independent from the group, and could often times come off as cold and stoic. Wolf's reason was because he felt he was too intimidating, too bulky, and too shy to say anything or _do_ anything. What could he say? He was insecure of his stature and how people would perceive of him in person, regardless of all the tweets and all the "awws," on social media by his particular group of fans. Even at meet and greets they could be a little hesitant to talk or hug him.

Not all of them were like this, of course. There was a select few who did this. But for someone like Wolf who was insecure of his build since the end of grammar school, for every one out of ten girls who flinched and winced at his werewolf-like fangs exposed every time he smiled and his humongous, calloused hands, it pained him and made him even more shy and quiet. He envied the confidence of Thorne, who radiated the definition of the word and did it so casually. He wished he could have the meekness of Kai, who was charming all by his nickname, "Prince Kaito." Even Jacin, who was pretty muscular himself, didn't scare his fans in person.

Wolf flinched at the triggered thought ever since that faithful day his freshman year that plagued him forever.

All in all, it was something Wolf had to work on.

Before Wolf could turn down the possibility of talking to Émilie or Kai persuading him to give her a chance, Émilie took charge first.

Émilie waltzed up to his side of the bar, her honey-blonde curls bouncing around her frame as she walked up to him. Her face instantly turned from uneasiness by Thorne's endless flirting, which was a first for girls to react that way towards him, to a mischievous smile as she stopped in front of Wolf.

"Hi," her voice was cheerful and perky. "My name's Émilie. And I already know who _you_ are." She giggled before clearing her throat. Wolf was impressed at how confident and confrontational she was. But he was more impressed at how she talked to him with ease, not considering the fact that this guy was a crossover to his given nickname and his human name. "What brings you all here in this side of Wisconsin?"

Wolf shrugged timidly before giving her a half-smile. "Our idiotic friend over there," Wolf pointed to Thorne, sarcasm in his voice. "Thought of the bright idea to go to a bar around this part of town."

Émilie nodded her head in understanding, as if she knew how stupid Thorne could potentially be. Wolf heard Thorne defending himself before stuttering on his words and drinking again. "I see. You should know, this side of town isn't as boring as it seems. Lake Geneva comes alive in the nighttime. I should know, coming out of France with my _ami_ Scarlet, Lake Geneva is pretty impressionable for a quiet city. Then again, we come from a farming and quiet town."

Wolf fiddled with his glass of wine. "Thanks for the tip, Émilie. You're from France?" Wolf inquired, instantly becoming interested in their small conversation and not wanting to make this girl uncomfortable. "I always used to go there with my mom and brother to see some of our family members there. What bring you here in America? Midwest, at that." Wolf was growing his wilted confidence, although she probably couldn't tell through his facial expression. His green eyes were still tinted in small fear, and his smile turned into a close-lipped one. He _never_ talked that much with a person-let alone a _girl_ he barely knew.

But there was a first for everything.

At Wolf starting up what could lead to a good conversation, Émilie's mischievous smile started to widen, and there was a sudden gleam in her eyes. "Scarlet and I wanted to go to the same college out here after visiting Lake Geneva for our senior spring break. This place reminds us of our hometown."

 _Scarlet._ Wolf thought. This was the second time he heard of that name.

The name, Wolf concluded, he was already fairly fond of.

* * *

 **So there goes Wolf's first chapter for you all! I know it's a little short, but this is only an introduction to his story. To the person who predicted Wolf's story would start off at a bar, you're correct! Except, all of the boys are with him. Comment, follow, and favorite if you like this story.**

 **QOTD: how do you feel about Wolf's** **introduction? What do you think will happen between him and Émilie? Any other thoughts or ideas about his character and struggles already pointed out in the first chapter?**


	12. Chapter 12

"So what're you majoring in?"

Émilie arches her left eyebrow in confusion. "Pardon me?"

Wolf cleared his throat, afraid he had said something wrong. "As in, what career are you aiming towards in college?" he rephrased his words.

Émilie's eyes widened in understanding, and she poured Thorne another drink before responding. "Oh, excuse me. My English isn't all that; French is my first language. Anyways, I _wanted_ to be a cosmetologist but..." she hesitantly trailed off.

Wolf could sense through her tone of voice that she was uncomfortable talking about it. "I'm sorry," Wolf glanced back down at his drink. "I shouldn't have asked."

"No," she hastily refuted. "It's alright. I just... have you ever had that feeling where you had an idea what you want to make a career out of, but decide it isn't for you throughout your time there?"

Wolf had a brain freeze before he could comprehend she was talking about college still. He suddenly started to remember his very first year in college, unsure what he wanted to be at all. He was a good football player. Good enough to get a full-ride scholarship to Luna University before the band gig took off.

Wolf nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

Émilie started to relax her shoulders. "Well, I guess that's what happened to me. I quickly dropped out." she started to pull out a wet towel, concentrating her eyes downward and cleaning her area of the bar table's mess while talking to Wolf at the same time. "I still like cosmetology, but once I got a job here just to make money, I found out that _this_ is what I like, as crazy and weird as it may seem."

"No," Wolf shook his head softly. "It's not crazy at all." Although this type of atmosphere wasn't ideal for Wolf, he could understand why others would like the fun and excitement of a bar, the rush and how unexpected the people who would walk in might be. The sky was the limit when it came to clubs and bars.

Before Émilie could say anything else, her name was being yelled towards the back of the bar, and Émilie excused herself before disappearing.

It seemed as if Kai nudged him the second Émilie was out of sight. "I see you two are bonding." He joked.

Wolf chuckled before taking another sip of his drink. "She's a nice and pretty girl, I wouldn't say we're _bonding_ , though."

Kai playfully rolled his eyes. "Nice and pretty girl," he mimicked. "Are you going to ask her out?"

Wolf was taken aback, leaning backwards on his seat as if Kai struck him. " _Ask her out?_ Kai, I barely _know_ the girl. I can't pull girls like that."

Kai shook his head in disagreement. "But you _can_! You just don't want to push yourself to. C'mon! Ask her out!" Kai tried to persuade him. "I'll even help you."

"I don't need helping because I-"

"This is Scarlet!" Émilie screeched.

Both of the guys turned their heads towards them, and Wolf's mind churned into mush.

The girl was not movie star or magazine breathtakingly beautiful, but she was equivalent to that for Wolf.

He went gaga over her curvy stature immediately; her hips accentuating her bartender outfit, especially in the way she put her hand over her hip. Feeling guilty but not doing anything to prevent from staring, Wolf daringly looked up towards her facial features. She had freckles across her face with dark brown eyes and fiery red hair that looked like it was flames of fire with the way it swung over her shoulders and back.

Finally, the girls neared him and he started to become quiet, insecure, and tense with how this new girl would soon come to judge him. He could already picture her questionable or reluctant eyes as she raked his bulk and scary stature, one of his given nickname. He hoped with all his heart that she was just like Émilie. Although she gave off the impression that she was hard and brave on the outside and not so easily scared, one could never know their reaction to Rampion Boyz Wolf in person.

"Scarlet," Émilie gestured her hand towards Wolf. "Meet Wolf. He's apart of a boy band. Have you heard of the Rampion Boyz before?" she squealed.

Scarlet squinted her eyes at Wolf, looking like she was scrutinizing him. Wolf tried not to squirm with all his broad willpower.

"I might've," she replied quietly.

Wolf was a little shocked that she never heard of them, not that he cared for the least. It was a relief that not everybody knew them everywhere they went.

"Oh, well they're this really popular boy band. They actually just sang up there!"

Scarlet nodded her head slowly before looking at Wolf again. "I think I heard you up there. You're the one with that bass of a voice, right?"

Wolf chortled softly, delighted at her genuine bluntness. "Yeah, that was me."

"It sounded nice," Scarlet cracked a halfway grin.

Wolf returned one in seconds.

Before any of them could speak up, Kai gently punched Wolf in the shoulder. "We've gotta go back to our cabin, it's are already twelve."

Wolf nodded, getting up himself before glancing back at the girls. "Um, nice meeting you all." He hated how his voice sounded shaky, giving away how nervous he was towards them. Mainly, Scarlet.

Émilie only smiled all dreamy-eyed before going out of the exit door, leaving Scarlet answering for the both of them. "Of course. Make sure to come back soon."

Wolf gave out a small close-lipped smile, his brain not coming up with things to say next before they all left the bustling bar.

"Man, that was _mad_ sick!" Thorne slurred on his words, his footing off balance. He was using Jacin as a leaning post, leaving poor Jacin to flinch whenever he thought Thorne was going to puke on him.

"The only thing 'mad sick' is your upcoming hangover. You should've laid off on the drinks." Jacin scolded.

"So why didn't you stop me?"

"Because I'm not your mother!"

"Well, you sure are acting like her times two!"

While those two went at it as they usually did, Kai and Wolf walked in silence towards the Rampion before Wolf felt a slight tap on the back of his shoulder.

He jolted, quickly turning around before seeing a flash of blonde hair.

Émilie.

She smiled meekly. "Sorry for scaring you. But," she looked around at the dark night, the moon starting to rise up from the clouds and the bright stars.

"Here's Scarlet's number." She whispered low, handing him a ripped piece of paper with digits on it.

Wolf tried to feign his excitement with his bafflement. "Wuh-what-"

"I saw the way you looked at her." Émilie gigglingly accused. "It was cute."

"I-"

"Just don't hit her up out of the blue." she continued to interrupt him. "And make sure you're subtle, like you come off to be." Émilie gave him one last smile before turning her head back towards the exit door she slipped out of. "I've got a bar to handle. Hope I'll hear of your name around here again. Salut!" Émilie winked before jogging back into the bar.

Wolf glanced at the piece of paper before looking up at her retreating form and yelling back, "Je vous remercie!"

Émilie had the exit door slightly opened, turning back for the last time at Wolf. "De rien," she said, before disappearing in the tavern.

* * *

 **This might've been a crappy second chapter, especially after a couple of weeks, but I still hoped you all enjoyed it anyway! Comment, favorite, and follow this story if you like it so far! So, I see a lot of you predicted that Émilie and Wolf would go out on a couple of dates before Scarlet came into play. WRONG! What method do you think Wolf will attempt to get in contact with Scarlet subtly? How long do you think he'll take?**

 **QOTD: So, I'm struggling to chose between** **starting a Luna High School fanfic with all of the tlc characters in it after I'm halfway done with this** **story (which means around Thorne's part of the story) or continuing my already published prologue to "The 1960's." If you have not read the prologue, please do me a HUGE favor and check it out! The main leading roles in the story will be Jacin and Winter, and the rest of the tlc characters will be secondary. Comment which story you all would like to see from me next! I'd really appreciate your help and opinions :).**


	13. Chapter 13

"Madison, Wisconsin, are you guys ready?" Thorne yelled behind his mic, fiddling with his guitar. Thorne was trying to pump the crowd up, in which he was successfully doing.

Cheers and screams could be heard from the big audience inside the stadium.

"If you all don't mind, we'll be doing a short cover of One Dance by Drake tonight." Kai's voice could be softly heard front stage center, him and Wolf side by side. The music was cut off, including Thorne's electric guitar so that they could sing acoustically with Jacin's keyboard.

"You wanna start first, Wolf?" Kai locked eyes with Wolf amidst the roaring screams.

Wolf couldn't help but chuckle, nodding his head with all nonchalance.

 _Grips on your waste_

 _front way, back way._

 _You know that I don't play._

 _Streets not safe,_

 _but I never run away._

 _Even when I'm away._

 _Oti, oti_ Kai joins in, contributing his higher pitched voice with Wolf's smooth, low one.

 _There's never much love when we go OT._

 _I pray I make it back in one piece._

 _I pray, I pray._

 _That's why I need a one dance._

 _Got a hennessy in my hand._

 _One more time 'fore I go._

 _Higher powers taking a hold on me._

All of them join in for the chorus, which makes the crowd go wild.

* * *

"Need another bottle of water?" DJ Rikan inquired from his seat.

Wolf nodded, his hair dripping with sweat. Today was choreography day for the guys - Wolf's least favorite thing to do on a Saturday. On any day, in all actuality. Wolf wouldn't call himself a dancer, he felt he was pretty awkward doing basic dances. Especially standing next to Kai, who was the poster-boy for it. Wolf was also thirsty at choreography practices, he didn't know why, but it seemed like every time the music would start, he'd get dehydrated again.

At least he knew he wasn't by far _the_ worst dancer. That title belonged to Jacin.

Jacin never really put any effort to these choreography practices, he would always fumble or trip on either one of his feet. It was like he had two left feet. Besides, the guy couldn't do much when the charismatic Carswell Thorne did enough for the both of him to his left. Thorne was by far the only one who was genuinely into it, and with that, the only one who was doing the most.

"Thorne! Slow down!" Jacin yelled.

"Keep up!" A panting Thorne shot back. "I'm in the _zone_."

Kai rolled his eyes, throwing a towel Thorne's way. "You're about to burn out, dude."

"Nah, I'm all right. Maybe Wolf over there needs some more water. He's about as red as a tomato!"

Wolf, already coated in sweat, heat, and probably red in the face started blushing profoundly. Not just at the guys laughing at him, but the mere fact he never had a tomato before.

"Whatever. I think I'm done for the day." Wolf tried changing the topic.

Jacin shook his head at the still dancing Thorne, the music was already off. "Yeah, how about the whole year?" He grumbled.

* * *

"Should I get a haircut guys? One that screams sexy captain?" Thorne stared at himself on his phone screen.

Wolf, Kai, Jacin, and Thorne were all lounging in their cabin the night of their choreography practice. They had the right to have a night to themselves, the past week had been hectic and busy.

"Nah, maybe you should get one that screams arrogant."

Thorne's eyes darted at Jacin. "Jacin, you need to stop being jealous. It's called confidence, not cocky."

"When did I ever say cocky idiot?"

Kai was simply laying on his bed, cracking up at the bickering between the two.

"When will you guys ever get along?" Kai inquired.

"The minute he stops being so jealous!"

"The minute he stops being annoying!" Both Thorne and Jacin said at the same time, glaring at each other over what the other said.

Although Wolf was content staying in their lofty cabin, he had something else lingering on his mind. For some reason, he wanted to get out tonight. Maybe go back to the bar he saw Scarlet and her friend at. Get a few drinks. He did not want to go with the whole crew, though. Yet he didn't want to go by himself.

"Jacin," Wolf spoke up. "Do you want to go with me and get a few drinks?"

Jacin looked back at Wolf curiously, it was not often where Wolf would want to go somewhere. Especially to bars or clubs. "Uh, sure."

"We can all go!" Thorne said.

"Um, no. Just Wolf and I." Jacin refuted bluntly.

"Besides, no one wants to cater to a drunk Carswell." Kai smirked. "Let them go," Wolf knew that Kai kind of caught on to what he was trying to do, and was silently thankful for it.

"We'll be back no later than one," Wolf said, already turning the door knob.

Behind both him and Jacin, he could hear Carswell's voice growing more fainter by each step. "One? You guys are no fun! Make sure to pick up that girl's number for me!"

"The girl doesn't want you, Carswell." Jacin rolled his eyes before shutting the door behind them, making Wolf laugh.

The bar was not far away from the cabin, so they decided to walk the few blocks.

They were walking in dark silence before Jacin spoke up. "So what's the deal?"

"W-what're you talking about?" Wolf tried to feign innocence.

Jacin only gave out a light chortle. "C'mon now. It's not everyday you'd like to hang out with _me,_ and it's really unlike you to want to go to a bar. Is it because of that girl?"

Wolf was grateful that it was slightly dark outside, dark enough that Jacin couldn't see his growing blush accumulating his cheeks. "What girl?"

Wolf already imagined Jacin shaking his head disdainfully. "You're really bad at lying, you know that, Ze'ev? I'm talking about the girl with the scarlet hair. Fairly curvy. What was her name?" Jacin continued to pester around, trying to get Wolf to cough it up.

Wolf sighed. "Scarlet," he made sure it sounded a bit blunt.

"Ah, Scarlet. Ironic, yet fitting." Jacin declared.

"How'd you know?"

"I might've caught a glimpse of you two talking and that other girl slip her number to you."

Wolf shook his head. "You know everything, don't you?"

Jacin shrugged. "Eh, everything can closely be observed when it's presented to you."

Silence in the air.

"Have you contacted her this whole week?"

"Nope."

"Then what makes you think she'll be there tonight? And why didn't you?" Jacin inquired like an investigator would to a suspect.

"Simply because I didn't have time to-"

"Today you did. You're simply scared."

Why did Jacin have to know so much?

"-And she _works_ there." Wolf said more sternly, ignoring Jacin's interruption. "She _has_ to be there." He convinced himself she had to be. Although, Jacin might've been right, as he always is.

But she had to be there, right?

"And I'm not scared. I just..."

"You just?" Jacin pondered.

"I didn't want to come off as a creep, texting or calling her out of nowhere. I don't know how to approach her." Wolf did not know if he was convincing himself with that answer or Jacin, but it was half the truth and half a lie. He _didn't_ know how to approach girls. Especially her. But he was scared also.

They were nearing the bar, already hearing the vibration coming from the inside.

"Well, I hope you have a game plan." Jacin said.

 _I hope I do too_ Wolf thought to himself before they both entered inside.

Scanning the bar, he caught a glimpse of fiery red hair next to honey-blonde ones, immediately rushing over to them. He could hear Jacin's protests in back of him as he marched over.

 _Be subtle,_ Wolf was trying to calm his racing heart. He was nervous. _So_ nervous. Why was he here in the first place? What was he going to say? Why was he fretting this much? What if she had a boyfriend? Obviously not if Émilie gave him her number.

Wolf was grateful that he did not have to spark up a conversation first, sitting on one of the stools while Jacin sat to a stool on his left.

"Oh, look who we have here!" Émilie immediately smiled, her eyes widening with recognition at Wolf.

Wolf half-smiled. "Hi."

"And who is this?" Émilie gestured towards Jacin. "He's pretty cute," she winked at him.

Jacin averted his eyes elsewhere. "I'm pretty taken too."

Wolf winced at Jacin's comment, embarrassed for Émilie. But she recovered quickly.

"Sassy one, aren't you?" Before Jacin could come up with anything else, Émilie shifted her attention back to Wolf. "Scarlet just went to fetch another bottle of beer. And, oh!" Émilie gasps in surprise. "Here she comes now." She gives Wolf a small wink before walking over to another side of the bar, Scarlet coming closer to Wolf and Jacin.

As she approached them, Wolf couldn't help but straighten his posture just a little more. Could not help but look up and down from his non-existent drink and averting his eyes elsewhere from Scarlet. Could not help but to become more squeamish. _It would have been a good idea to pretend like I was talking to Jacin,_ Wolf thought to himself. How clueless and dumb he might have looked to her now.

Scarlet arched an eyebrow at Wolf. "You again?"

Although Scarlet's facial features took on a playful smirk, Wolf could not differentiate whether or not her tone was playing or genuinely serious.

Wolf cleared his throat, trying not to stutter. "Uh, yeah. It's me."

"I think the proper term to ask is 'what would you like?'" Jacin interjected, tapping his knuckles on the table.

Scarlet risked a glance at Jacin, slightly glaring at him. "And who is sunshine over here?" She asked sarcastically.

"The names Jacin, firework."

Scarlet's eyes travelled back to Wolf's. "Your friend over there must come handy with the comebacks."

"I'd also like to think an added bonus would be my nicknames." Jacin refuted monotonously.

"What brings you back?" Scarlet's attention completely focused on Wolf, ignoring Jacin. "Don't you have some shows or photoshoots or something to do?" Her voice sounded bitter at that last bit, leaving Wolf completely flustered and awkward.

"All of those things we did during the week. I just wanted to come back just to... get away for a little bit. With a friend." Wolf nodded his head towards Jacin, who was furiously typing on his phone. Probably Winter. Wolf felt sorry for the poor guy.

Scarlet nodded her head approvingly, crossing her arms. "What would you like?" She mimicked after Jacin, making her voice be known towards him. Except, Jacin had long forgotten about the conversation between them minutes ago. He was too glued to his screen to even look up.

Wolf daringly leaned closer to her, not feeling confident in himself to reach out for her hand. "He's been pretty hurt by someone." Wolf did not want to say who, regardless of the fact that Scarlet never knew her. He just didn't feel right spilling all of Jacin's business.

Scarlet's voice dropped lower too as she leaned into Wolf. He could feel the heat of her breath on his ears that made the hairs stand up on his neck. Could feel her fiery red curls envelop him around his broad, abnormal shoulders. "The dude has a girlfriend? I feel sorry for her." Scarlet sarcastically declared.

Wolf grinned. "He really loves her, though. They're best friends. Maybe if we didn't become the Rampion Boyz, they would be together right now." Wolf pondered off solemnly.

Scarlet pulled away. "That's how life is. I feel the same way about my grand-mėre."

Grand-mėre, Wolf knew, meant 'grandma' in French. He missed his mom back in France. He often wondered about his parents...

Wolf squinted his eyes in concentration. "What happened to her?"

Once Wolf got Scarlet talking about her grand-mėre, he knew that he hit a soft spot in her. She talked about her endlessly; like she was her whole world. Like she was the stars to her dark night. Then again, Scarlet did bring up the fact that her parents were absent in her life.

Wolf felt like saying the same, pouring out to her. He only told her bits and pieces of his story. How he never thought to visit his parents who went back to France. How he hadn't stayed in touch with his younger brother, Ran after college. How the band took off in college.

Miraculously, Wolf got her number.

Surprisingly, he was the one that made the first move.

Even more surprisingly, she was more than willing to share her information.

His mission was accomplished.

Walking back to the cabin with Jacin, though, was the weight of his actions from the past on his shoulders. The weight of never calling up his parents who were in another continent and brother in another country anymore.

The weight of starting a whole new life the minute he became a member of the Rampion Boyz.

 _Wasn't that what every member in the group was doing?_ Wolf thought.

 _No, only you_ was what his conscious replied back saying.

It was only him.

 **So sorry I haven't update in over a month! I most definitely will _not_ abandon this story, I hope I haven't lost any of you all!**

 **QOTD: any predictions about Wolf's past that made him start a new one?**


	14. Chapter 14

Although this story is the most "famous" one amongst my others, I have to sadly say that I do not think I will be continuing this story for the time being. I'm not sure exactly what I want to do with it, because although I don't want to delete this story, I'm not sure if I want to keep it either. I know for a fact that I am not satisfied with my writing, the plot, and everything in between. I'm so sorry for disappointing you guys, that being said this story is going to be under reconstruction and hiatus. I will most likely revise all my other chapters and maybe start over with what I want to prioritize as my plot, improve better on my writing for this story, etc. I believe because of the way I started this fic (which happens to be my very first fic) puts me in a position of writer's block and gives me little to no inspiration on finishing it.

For the time being, I will and still am focusing on _Levana's Asylum for Supernaturals, A Series of Unfortunate Events,_ and other one-shots/prompts that I want to do that you all can read if you wish.

Love,

Introspectivepoetic.


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